A Glitch In His Breathing
by Hester Daemia Byrde
Summary: COMPLETE! A woman named Glitch stumbles upon the Matrix codes on the net. But before Morpheus can get to her, Agent Smith does...
1. The Rain

A/N: Well here goes my first and probably only Matrix fic. Its pretty straight forward and a bit angsty at times so beware. And I'll go ahead and warn you. This will not end with everyone all happy and with bunnies hopping  
about in the flowers. It won't be an awful ending where everybody dies but they won't live happily every after either.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Matrix or Agent Smith (though ownership of his body would be nice or one of his replications in Reloaded. *conjures up a sick fantasy*) I also do not own this song. It's JoDee Messina's I believe.  
Correct me if I'm wrong. I do own Glitch so no using her without my  
permission and no she's not based on Armitage. 

  
Rating: Its R for language and adult "situations" AKA there's a sex scene in this one so no kiddies. Parents, it's your job to make sure your little brats don¹t read my explicit shit.  
  
Summary: A woman named Glitch stumbles upon the Matrix codes on the net. (Yes I know that's not possible in all probability. Screw you) Before Morpheus can get to her, Agent Smith does. He has a rather shocking proposition for her in exchange for a clean slate.  
  
**A Glitch in His Breathing**  
  
  
**I: The Rain**  
  
_Seems like the hard times circle 'round  
A couple drops and they all start coming down  
Yeah I might feel defeated  
And I might hang my head  
I might be barely breathing  
But I'm not dead  
Cause tomorrow's another day  
And I'm thirsty anyway  
So bring on the rain_  
  
******  
  
Raindrops the size of dimes and larger beat against the tiny apartment window. Though the water running down the glass distorted the view inside, a small woman was visible sitting at a cluttered desk with one leg curled  
under her and the other thrown over the arm of her chair. She couldn't have been much older than twenty. Her face looked deathly pale in the anti-freeze green light of her computer screen. She twisted back and forth listlessly in the black chair as she watched her computer work. Her charcoal gray eyes danced over the bizarre codes flashing across the screen. There was no sound in the room save the whirring of the computer, the creaking of  
the chair and the rain outside. The woman lifted her coffee mug to her lips but found it disappointingly  
empty. She cast an empty glance to the still reeling screen before she stood from her desk and walked stiffly into the kitchen. Her labored gait made it plain that she had spent most of her day sitting at that desk.  
She hooked her bluntly cut black hair over her ear as she poured her seventh cup of coffee since lunch. She knew that this would be another relatively sleepless night as it always was when she let her hacking get in the way of her real job as a programmer. She pushed the sleeves of her oversized gray sweatshirt up her thin arms before she added cream to her coffee. There was something defeated about the woman's movement, as if her life of computers and coffee was a sentence. She knew it wasn't, however. She had chosen this life all on her own. It wasn't so bad once she got used to not getting enough sleep. That's what the coffee was for. She took a long slow sip from her mug before she walked a little less stiffly back to her desk. She set down her mug and flopped down in the chair causing its hinges to give a great creak. She sat forward, her intelligent eyes scanning the screen of acid green symbols. She knew that there was probably some law against what she was doing. She was smart enough to at least attempt to cover her tracks but recently whatever this green shit scrolling on her screen was had been doing it for her. Actually she knew what the green shit was to an extent. It had taken her a week to crack the code but she was beginning to understand it now. The symbols were forming lines of code much like those in an RPG but this was unlike any RPG she had ever seen. In all its detail it seemed to be more of an alternate reality. She narrowed her eyes and stared at the columns of code as they scrolled past. Things were constantly changing in this program. There must have been thousands, perhaps millions, of players in this RPG or whatever it was. It was massive.  
An earsplitting ring caused the woman to nearly jump out of her skin. In the dim light of the screen she clumsily grabbed for the phone and put it to her ear.   
"Hello?" Her voice was ragged with disuse  
"Glitch?" A man's voice on the other end of the line asked.  
"Yeah it's me." She replied after clearing her throat. "What's up, Slice?"  
The man took two slow labored breaths before he spoke. "We have a problem at  
the Mainframe."   
Glitch sat forward, looking concerned. "What?"  
Slice sounded like he swallowed hard. "They found us." He sounded on the  
verge of panic.  
"Whoa whoa. Calm down, Slice." She said. "Who's they?"  
"I dunno." He replied. "No body does. Some weird guys in suits with sunglasses."  
"What did they get?" Glitch asked. "Were they there for something specific?"  
"What they wanted wasn't here." Slice said, his voice sounded thin. "They were after you, and they wouldn't tell us what for."  
Glitch felt her throat seize. "Did you tell them where I was?" She asked quickly.  
"No and fortunately we didn't have to lie." Slice replied. "We thought you were going to be there tonight."  
"It was a good thing I didn't show then." Glitch said, fighting off panic.  
"Christ, Glitch what have you gotten into?" Slice breathed into the phone.  
Glitch's eyes flicked down to the screen, which still reeled with codes.  
"I'm not sure." She said with some uncertainty. "I found this weird program buried on the net. I don't know how to describe it to you."  
"Don't bother." Slice said. "Line might be tapped anyhow."  
Those words did nothing to help Glitch calm down. "You think so?"  
"Oh I wouldn't put it past these guys." Slice told her candidly. "They didn't look like anyone you'd wanna fuck with."  
Glitch nodded to herself as she fought to stay rational. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"  
Slice was silent for a moment as he thought. Finally he said, "Meet me and the gang at the Mainframe tomorrow night and tell us what you've found."  
Glitch nodded. "Fair enough. I'll be there."  
"Take care of yourself till then." He told her.  
"Will do." She replied heaving a sigh.  
"Later."  
"Later."  
Glitch hung up the phone and sat back in her chair. The Mainframe had been found? By who? It was the most closely guarded secret of the hacking world, a place where the geniuses of the dark side of the computer would meet to gloat and exchange information. It was there that she had gotten the alias Glitch. She was known for her ability to turn tiny little problems into major hard drive crashes. All her friends were there. There was Slice, a hardwiring genius from LA. Then there was Ring, the master of infected chain letters, and her kid sister, Cancer. Cancer, who was only fourteen at the time, was the author of the Y2K scare and very proud of it. She would grow up to be a real nuisance some day. Until then, however, the best among them was Splinter. He was the only hacker to successfully hack into the CIA database and come out clean. Covering tracks was his specialty.  
There were many others at the Mainframe but these five formed a family in many ways. When they were together they left the real world behind, along with their real names and real jobs and real worries. Together they had managed to cause some major catastrophes in the computer world. Their combined skills made them nearly impossible to trick, catch or stop. Glitch sighed. She knew she was good but apparently she was not as good as she needed to be. The fact that the cops or whoever it was were on her ass was proof of that. Apparently she still had a thing or two to learn from Splinter. Perhaps tomorrow he could help her wiggle out of this mess.  
A heavy thudding knock at her door made Glitch's throat clench. So much for asking Splinter, or anyone for that matter, for help. She was going to have to talk her way out of this one if she could. She stood quickly and started for the door but before she left the room she flipped the emergency shut off switch causing the reeling screen to go blank. Evidence gone for the most part she headed for the door.  
A man in a dark suit, just as Slice had described, stood outside the door with his hands clasped in front of him. An earpiece, much like what a secret service agent would wear, was perched on his ear, its cord disappearing into the stiff collar of his white shirt. His eyes were hidden behind rimless rectangular sunglasses.  
"You are Simone Carter?" He asked in a nearly mechanical voice.  
"I am." She replied as smoothly as she could. She thought she must have  
looked very shabby in her tattered sweats next to his starched suit.  
"Otherwise known as Glitch?" He asked, his tone betraying no emotion.  
Glitch's mouth suddenly went dry and words failed her. All she could do was  
nod.  
The man's face twitched. Glitch assumed that was his rendition of a smile. "I appreciate your honesty with me, Ms. Carter." He said, sounding rather  
authoritative. "You would not have liked the consequences otherwise."  
Glitch did not speak. She remained rooted to the spot in the doorway. She  
had to bend her neck at an odd angle to look into the man's face. The height  
difference made her appear to be almost cowering.  
After a moment of thick silence the man spoke again. "Will you allow me in?" he asked.  
Glitch wordlessly stepped out of the way and he stepped inside the tiny apartment. A voice in the back of her head sounding oddly like Slice told her she ought to be as cooperative as possible, to a point. After a few failed attempts, Glitch managed to speak. "Who are you?" She asked as she shut the door.  
The man turned to her sharply. "I am Agent Smith." He replied curtly. "May I  
see your computer?"  
Glitch wet her lips and spoke calmly. "Agent Smith, I understand that your job must be very important, but I cannot allow you to simply barge into my apartment and search at will if you cannot give me a reason."  
"In shorter terms you want to see a badge?" Smith asked in a rather irritated voice.  
She nodded slowly.  
"Very well." Smith half growled as he pulled an FBI badge from his breast pocket. He gave her a good look at it before he asked again. "May I see your computer?"  
Glitch's stomach clenched as she nodded. "Follow me."  
She led him into her tiny bedroom, which housed her computer. The screen was black and lifeless, just as she had left it. Her coffee sat steaming beside the keyboard.  
"Would you turn it on please?" Smith asked. The request sounded polite but  
his voice did not.  
Glitch reached forward and flipped the power switch. The screen flashed to life before displaying a royal blue screen, which read  
  
This computer has been improperly shut down  
Rebuild the desktop? Y/N?  
  
"Computer problems, Ms. Carter?" Agent Smith asked, his voice bore a lilting tone.  
Her insides gave a guilty lurch and she prayed that it didn't show on her face. "Crashed." She managed as she hit the "Y" key. Smith waved her aside. "That is not necessary." He said shortly. Glitch stepped out of the way as she watched him lean over the keyboard and clatter in commands. She wondered what on earth the feds were looking for. It was a possibility they were looking for leads on one of her associates, Splinter perhaps. If he got nailed for everything he had pulled in the computer world he would have a record as long as Glitch was tall. Still, if they were looking for shit on her friends they had come to the wrong place. She knew better than to keep possible leads on her buddies on her home computer. If they wanted something like that they should have looked harder at the Mainframe. But they had already been there and Slice said they had been looking for her. In that case they had come to the perfect place. 

After a moment of entering commands into her computer the screen went dark again and began to reel with the bizarre acid green symbols. Glitch felt as though she were going to be sick. Smith smiled rather nastily and turned to  
her.   
"Impressive." He said, and his tone sounded as though he truly were. "I did not think this was possible."  
"What?" Glitch asked taking a step closer. Her dusky eyes flicked between the screen and Agent Smith's face.  
Agent Smith turned to her. "I am afraid I am not at liberty to disclose such information at this time, Ms. Carter." He replied, his tone and face unreadable. "However after I have met with my colleagues I will be able to tell you more. I would like to come by at 3 the day after tomorrow."  
Glitch gave a shrug. "Sounds good." She said trying to sound as agreeable as possible.  
Smith's face twitched again. "Excellent." He said. "Will you show me out?" She nodded and led him out the door and she closed and locked it behind him.  
Then Glitch leaned her back against the doorframe and slid down to the floor. Shit. Slice was right. What had she gotten herself into? And more importantly was there a way out?  
Splinter would know.  
******  



	2. Bending Glitch

A/N: Greetings again all! Sorry this last installment took so long. I was  
out of town for the last two weeks with band trips and spring break and what  
not. I'll try to be a bit more methodical with my postings but not  
guarantees. I also will be playing catch up since I missed so much school.  
Writing may be my first love but graduating high school and getting the hell  
out of here takes priority. Sorry. Keep reviewing though. That just might  
make the updates come faster (hint hint). Just a warning: I know nothing  
about computers or hacking or anything so some things may not work the way  
they do in real life. Deal.  
  
Destiny Chaser: Hope I haven't been keeping you waiting too long. I also did  
as you requested and spaced out the paragraphs. Hope that makes your life  
easier. Please keep reviewing!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Matrix or Agent Smith and I am not making money  
off of this. I make my money in different ways. As my chemistry teacher  
says, "There is good money to be made in the business of blood." * smiles  
showing fangs * The song is written by Matchbox 20 and isn't mine either.  
No, Ring is not based on Switch nor does she have anything to do with that  
twisted movie The Ring. Glitch is mine. No touchy or usey. Also, I actually  
have no idea who authored the love bug or the Y2K scare so don't send the  
cops after me.  
  
Rating: Language and drinking are the only bad things in here. It will get  
worse due to Ring's perverse sense of humor and foul mouth. Again, no  
kiddies need to be reading this unless you want them to turn out like me.  
  
**II: Bending Glitch**  
  
_I started out clean but I'm jaded  
Just phoning it in  
Just breaking the skin  
Can you help me I'm bent  
I'm so scared that I'll never  
Get put back together  
You're breaking me in  
And this is how we will end  
With you and me bent_  
******  
  
After Agent Smith left, Glitch called Slice and told him what had happened.  
He replied with a very creative string of swearing that made Glitch, even in  
her panicked state, smile. In the midst of all the curses, he told her he  
was calling up the gang at the Mainframe and to be there at eight the next  
evening. He wanted everyone to have the whole story and Glitch agreed that  
it would be best. The more advice and ideas she had to run on the better off  
she would be.  
  
The Mainframe was actually in the basement of a deserted warehouse on the  
waterfront and the upper levels had been converted into an internet café  
owned by Splinter. Some of the profits brought in by the café were used to  
fund the Mainframe's big operations. A staircase in the kitchen lead down to  
the main room of the basement, which housed most of the computers.  
  
Ring and her sister Cancer were both at one of the many computers on a long  
table in the center of the spacious room. Cancer sat cross-legged in the  
chair and Ring stood behind her looking down at the screen over her sister's  
shoulder. They hardly appeared to be related. Ring had hard, almost  
masculine features. A pair of sunglasses was perched in the spikes of her  
short bleached hair and silver hoops marched up the cartilage of both ears.  
Cancer on the other hand looked like any sixteen-year-old would. She wore  
faded overalls and a plaid shirt and her shoulder length brown hair was  
pulled back in a ponytail. No one would suspect her of being a hacking  
mastermind.  
  
Ring glanced at her watch as Glitch walked in. "Wow." She commented. "She's  
on time."  
  
Cancer checked the time on her pager and frowned. "No she's not. She's ten  
minutes late."  
  
"That¹s as on time as Glitch ever gets." Came Splinter's clear tenor voice  
from behind one of the larger monitors on the other side of the table. He  
pushed his chair to the left a bit to peer at Glitch between the monitors.  
He smiled at her, his crystal blue eyes glittering behind his shaggy brown  
hair. "Slice tells us you got yourself some trouble." He hardly seemed  
worried  
  
"Troubles putting it mildly don't you think?" Ring said looking at him over  
the top of her sister's computer.  
  
"More than likely." Splinter replied. "I wasn't down there when they paid  
you all a visit down here but I did see them walk through the café. Seemed  
none too friendly to me."  
  
"No shit. How many of them were there, sis?" Ring looked down at Cancer.  
"Three? Four?"   
  
"Three I think." Cancer replied with a thoughtful expression. "And they were  
dressed in the same suits and they all wore sunglasses."  
  
"Yeah I know." Glitch said in a rather dreading voice. "One of them dropped  
by my apartment last night."  
  
Ring rounded to face her. "You're shittin' me." She said. "They came to your  
apartment?"  
  
"Yeah." Glitch said nodding. "He wanted to see my computer."  
  
"What on earth have you been up to?" Splinter asked sounding like a  
concerned big brother.  
  
"That's just it." She said folding her arms over her stomach. "I don't  
really know myself." She looked around. "Where's Slice? He's the one that  
wanted to hear all about this."  
  
The door to the stairs slammed closed announcing someone's entry into the  
basement. Glitch turned to see Slice striding in carrying a small plastic  
grocery sack. "Sorry I'm late. I just stepped out to get drinks." He set the  
bags on the table beside Cancer's computer.  
  
"Wine cooler for you, Ring." He said handing it to her. "A Bud Light for  
me." He said pulling it out and setting it down beside the bag. "A Coors for  
Splinter." He looked up at Splinter who was still sitting in his computer  
chair with his ankle propped on his knee. "No, come get it. I'm not throwing  
it. It's not my fault you can't catch."  
  
Splinter hauled himself out of the chair and retrieved his beer saying,  
"It's not my fault you can't throw."  
  
Slice ignored Splinter's cut and continued to pull drinks out of the bag.  
  
"What do I get?" Cancer asked leaning forward to peer in the bag.  
Slice smiled at her. "Cancer, love you kid but I'm not about to get caged  
for giving alcohol to a sixteen year old. I hope a Sprite works."  
  
Cancer smiled back at him. "Sounds great."  
  
"Besides," her sister said as she unscrewed the cap of her cooler. "If we  
wanted to get her drunk all we would have to do was give her the neck of the  
bottle."  
  
Everyone snorted with laughter.  
  
Cancer turned a mock-offended glare to her sister and playfully retorted, "I  
would not get slammed off the neck of the bottle."  
  
"We'll find out when you're twenty one." Ring replied innocently as she took  
a drink.  
  
"And for our newest fugitive," Slice said, "I thought something a bit  
stronger than usual was in order. Mike's Hard Lemonade sound good?"  
  
Glitch smiled appreciatively as she took the bottle from him. "Sounds  
great." She replied.  
  
"Oh, and a cupcake." Slice said handing her a saran wrapped cupcake with  
pink frosting. Glitch took it with a small chuckle.  
  
"Hey, you didn't get me a cupcake when the cops were on my ass for the  
Lovebug Virus." Ring complained.  
  
"Yeah well, they weren't coming to your apartment at ungodly hours of the  
night." Slice countered pointedly. "They never got within twenty feet of  
you." Glitch felt herself swallow hard.  
  
Ring blinked a few times. "Point." She said.  
  
Splinter wheeled himself over in his computer chair to join the group. "Ok,  
Glitch." He said in a rather analytical tone. "Start at the beginning."  
  
Glitch ran a hand through her chin-length hair. "Trouble is, I don't know  
where the beginning is exactly."  
  
Slice moved the grocery bag and perched himself on the end of the table. "Ok  
we are pretty sure whatever that shit scrolling on your computer screen is  
what has their panties in a twist." He said. "So what is it?"  
  
Glitch sighed pensively. "I don't know exactly but as best as I can tell,  
its lines of code for some sort of alternate universe."  
  
"An RPG?" Cancer asked.  
  
Glitch shook her head. "No, its more complex than that by far. There's so  
much information in these codes that I can't even start to decode it. Things  
change too fast, so I had to learn the code." She took a bite of her cupcake  
and set it back on the saran wrap. She chewed it quickly before washing it  
down with a generous swig of her lemonade. She made an odd face. "Cupcake  
and booze. What a combination."  
  
"Hold on." Ring said pulling a Kleenex from the box beside Cancer's monitor.  
She took a step forward and stuck it to the end of Glitch's nose. "I can't  
take you seriously if you have icing on your beak. Especially pink icing."  
  
Glitch laughed. "Thanks." She said wiping her face clean. "Anyway, It took  
me about a week to learn the code so that's no longer a problem. I can read  
everything that goes on in this program down to the last detail."  
  
"How did you find it?" Splinter asked.  
  
Glitch began to pace as she shook her head. "I have no idea. Whatever this  
program is keeps erasing my browser history."  
  
"So how do you find it again?" Cancer inquired.  
  
"I don't. It finds me in a sense." She answered.  
  
"Weird." Ring commented.  
  
"So you can't cover your tracks because there are none to cover?" Splinter  
said, half making a statement and half asking a question.  
  
Glitch nodded.  
  
Slice sighed heavily. "Maybe you should get out of dodge." He said. "Hide  
somewhere. It's not good for you to be where the feds can get to you with  
any kind of ease."  
  
"Yeah." Splinter chimed in. "You could stay in one of the back rooms here or  
go to a hotel in the suburbs."  
  
Glitch shook her head. "No I can't. I don't want to put the Mainframe in  
jeopardy for my personal problems. Besides, the man that came to my house  
said he wanted to see me tomorrow at three. I get the feeling that if I ran  
he would find me somehow."  
  
"Did he tell you what agency he was with?" Splinter asked.  
  
"He showed me an FBI badge." Glitch replied taking a drink from her bottle.  
  
Ring shook her head. "That's bullshit." She said. The Bureau has better  
fashion sense."  
  
Glitch couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"Well whatever these people are after you for, Glitch, it must be big."  
Slice said not picking up on Ring's humorous tone.  
  
"Yeah." Splinter continued. "They busted in the Mainframe and didn't even  
blink. You were all they were after."  
  
"I know." Glitch sighed.  
  
"Look just be cooperative." Ring advised. "But only as much as they ask  
for."  
  
Glitch nodded. "That was my plan."  
  
"And in the mean time," Splinter said standing from his chair. "How about I  
treat all of us to coffee and cookies in the café?"  
  
"Great." Glitch muttered. "First booze and now caffeine. This ought to give  
me some trippy dreams."  
  
"Oh will you quit bitchin'?" Ring retorted as she followed Splinter to the  
stairs. "You ain't the one payin'"  
  
"And besides." Splinter called over his shoulder. "Who says you're sleeping  
tonight?"  
******  



	3. Empty Hands

A/N: Yay! A new chapter is born! I hope you haven't been waiting on this  
for too long. I suppose now would be a good time to extend my thanks to Rei  
Kasen for posting this for me as my computer has many firewalls which  
prevent me from doing it myself. Merci Rei! *yanks cookie lever*  
  
Disclaimer: I hate these frickin' things. No I don't own Matrix or Smith nor  
do I own the song lyrics which are from the song "Quidam" _from Cirque du  
Soleil_. Glitch is mine. You use her without my permission. They will need  
dental records to identify you when I get finished with you.  
  
Rating: R still and will be the whole way. This time it's language and adult  
themes. Parents, your little brats probably won't even get half of the stuff  
in this chapter but I could be underestimating them. I've seen ten year olds  
write slash fics that would make the seasoned slash addict a little sick.  
Anyway, my point is, no kids need to read this.  
  
III: Empty Hands  
  
_There's nothing left  
There's nothing right  
There's noting wrong  
I'm one I'm two  
I'm all yet none of you  
The truth the lie  
The tear the laughter  
The hand and the empty touch  
I am here alone   
Waiting for the curtain call_  
******  
  
A knock came at Glitch's door not two seconds after the clock on the coffee  
pot hit three p.m. Shaking, Glitch answered the door, her sweaty palm  
slipping on the doorknob.  
  
Agent Smith stood in the door looking much as he did two nights ago. He wore  
the same starched suit and rimless sunglasses, and he stood exactly the  
same, with his hands clasped in front of him.  
  
"Good afternoon, Ms. Carter." He said in a flat voice.  
  
"Hello Agent Smith." She replied trying to keep her voice as even as  
possible. "Come in." She stepped out of his path.  
  
Wordlessly, he stepped past her and into the tiny apartment.  
  
"Would you like something to drink?" She asked, as she closed the door.  
  
"No thank you." He answered his voice not changing.  
  
"Well I just made a pot of coffee so do you mind if I have some?" She asked.  
She secretly hoped the caffeine would settle her nerves at least a little.  
  
Smith shook his head, his face unreadable and neutral.  
  
"Have a seat." She gestured to the two chairs by the butcher block in the  
kitchen, which doubled as her dining room table.  
  
Smith did so and waited patiently for her to get her coffee.  
  
"So what was it you wanted to see me about?" Glitch asked as she sat down in  
front of him. She kept her voice as calm and innocent as possible.  
  
Smith gave a soft sigh as if he had been dreading this all day. Something in  
his face told Glitch that she was in more trouble than she realized. He  
removed his glasses, set them on the table and looked Glitch directly in the  
eye. His eyes were a drowning electric blue that took Glitch's breath.  
  
"I will be frank with you, Ms. Carter." He began as he rested his arm on the  
table. "What you have stumbled upon in these past weeks is a closely guarded  
secret of the government. Not only is it illegal for you to have access to  
those codes but very dangerous as well. Please tell me how you came to find  
them."  
  
Glitch took a long slow drink from her mug before she gave her reply.  
"Agent, I don't know how to tell you this but I have no idea how I found  
those codes."  
  
His gaze darkened. "I don't believe that." He all but growled.  
  
"Would you like to see the browser history?" Glitch asked. "I'm sure you're  
capable of checking to see if I've cleared it."  
  
Smith thought for a moment before standing and striding towards her bedroom.  
Glitch stood from the butcher block and followed at his heels. She left her  
mug behind.   
  
The computer was already on. Smith settled himself in the computer chair and  
cleared the screensaver of flying toasters with a bump of the mouse. He  
pulled up her browser and began to clatter in commands on the keyboard.  
After a moment of careful search, Smith turned in the chair to face Glitch.  
His face looked plainly confused. "Well perhaps we were wrong. This is not  
entirely your fault after all."  
  
"What do you mean?" Glitch asked.  
  
"While you were engaged in activities that fall under the description of  
'hacking' it appears that someone has been doing the same thing from the  
opposite direction." He replied, sounding as though he were choosing his  
words carefully.  
  
"What?" Glitch was now genuinely confused and no longer play-acting.  
  
"Someone has been following your footsteps on the net and has managed to  
meet you halfway with these codes." Smith said. "Now I know what question  
you are about to ask. What are these codes?"  
  
Glitch nodded mutely.  
  
He sat forward slightly "Well I cannot answer that with any relative ease,  
but I will do my best to make you understand."  
  
Glitch didn't even remotely like the sound of that.  
  
"There is a hacker out there who makes you and your comrades look like  
amateurs." He continued. "He is using his skills and infinite knowledge of  
computer programming to devise a way to enslave your mind."  
  
"Enslave?" It was the most absurd thing she heard since Slice told her of  
Splinter's successful hack into the CIA, and even that had been believable.  
"Enslave how?"  
  
"Do you know what the codes are?" Smith asked.  
  
"Not exactly." She answered slowly, taking time to measure her words. "They  
are something like codes in a role-playing game. Like something a programmer  
would use to create a level in a game, but its more complex than that." She  
sat down slowly on the bed, not taking her eyes off Smith's face.  
  
The corner of Smith's mouth twisted into as much of a smile as he ever gave.  
"You were on the right track when you said that it was a role-playing game."  
He folded his hands on his stomach and leaned back in the chair. "That is in  
essence what it is, or will be. It has yet to be completed."  
  
"What will it be for?" Glitch asked, curiously as she leaned her elbows on  
her knees. "And who will be using it?"  
  
"Everyone upon its completion." Smith answered ominously.  
  
"Define everyone." She said, frowning in confusion.  
  
"I cannot answer that with any certainty." Smith said. "However we do know  
the use of this program. Are you familiar with the term AI?"  
  
"Yes. It stands for artificial intelligence." She replied.  
  
"Are you aware that it exists?" Smith inquired.  
  
Glitch blinked at him slowly. "No. I would think that it would have been all  
over the news if AI had been created."  
  
"Not if a criminal had created it first." Smith said calmly. "Allow me to  
explain."  
  
Glitch got the feeling that this could take awhile. "Please do." She said.  
  
Smith touched his long fingers together and leaned back a little further in  
the chair. He appeared to be almost relaxed. "The man weaving this alternate  
reality is the inventor of AI. I've seen them. I've seen his machines. They  
work beautifully but for one flaw."  
  
"What is that?" Glitch asked.  
  
"The machines were originally built to run on solar power. It takes an  
enormous amount of power to produce independent thought, much more than can  
be gathered from the sun." Smith explained. "So this man has discovered a  
way to imprison the human mind in an artificial universe and harvest  
electricity from the human brain."  
  
Glitch's dark gray eyes widened with shock and disbelief. "That¹s not  
possible." She said after a moment.  
  
Smith turned his head to the side slightly. "What is not possible?" He  
asked.  
  
"Creating an alternate reality. Harvesting power from the human brain. The  
existence of AI without our knowledge." She ran her hand roughly through her  
hair. "Its insanity."  
  
"Is it really?" Smith asked, sounding as though her shock amused him.  
  
"Well, yes!" She replied forcefully. "I have a hard time buying that AI  
exists without anyone saying anything about it. Even if it were not common  
knowledge, I would know about it. I'm a hacker for crying out loud. It's my  
business to know stuff I'm not supposed to."  
  
A dark smile twisted on Smith's face.  
  
"I don't believe you." She said finally, her charcoal eyes narrowing. "Prove  
it."  
  
Smith laughed, if one could call the low growling sound that escaped his  
throat a laugh. "Come closer." He said, hooking a finger at her.  
  
Glitch slid from the bed and approached him as he removed his earpiece,  
letting it fall down and hang from the tight wire coil. Smith directed her  
to look into his ear. What she saw defeated all words. Where the dark canal  
of his ear should have been was a silver port thought which a wire could  
have been fed.  
  
"Holy shit!" Glitch all but shouted as she scrambled back to the bed.  
  
Smith, his face holding the mildest expression, plugged his earpiece back  
into his ear. "So now do you believe?"  
  
Glitch nodded her mouth too dry for speech and her mind reeling too fast for  
coherency.   
  
He smiled a little but his blue eyes remained empty. They almost seemed fake  
and now Glitch knew why they looked that way.  
  
It took her two tries before she could speak. "So-…so if you are an AI, who  
do you work for?" She managed to ask, knowing she must have sounded stupid  
and paranoid. "I thought no one else has AI's."  
  
"I am what is known as a Sentient Program, or Agent." Smith replied with  
some dignity. "I am what the government managed to steal from this mad man."  
  
Glitch was silent for a moment as she soaked it all in. "So this guy is  
powering his AI's by using a computer generated reality to harvest  
electricity from human brains. No one else knows about this but the  
government, who has managed to steal some of his hardware."  
  
"Precisely." Smith replied, his same odd smile twisting on his face.  
  
Glitch laughed abruptly.  
  
"What?" Smith asked, his smile shifting to a confused frown.  
  
"What just came out of my mouth sounded like something out of a science  
fiction movie and yet," She paused, musing. "It all makes sense."  
  
A weighted silence filled the bedroom as Glitch mulled it all over in her  
head. It was giving her a brain cramp but somehow she could understand. At  
length, she looked up at Agent Smith and spoke. "So now that you have  
completely shattered my grip on reality, what do you want from me?"  
  
Smith sat forward in the chair making it squeak. "We want two things from  
you, Ms. Carter."  
  
"I'm listening." She said, crossing her legs.  
  
"First we want full access to your computer. We can use your web browser to  
track this hacker and perhaps introduce bugs and tracers into his system.  
That could slow him down and even help us pinpoint his location."  
  
Glitch pretended to think for a moment before she nodded tersely. "Done."  
She said. "What else?"  
  
The same odd smile twitched again at the corners of Smith's mouth. He looked  
as though her were searching for the right words.  
  
"Well what is it?" Glitch asked rather impatiently.  
  
"I am an AI but you know this." Smith said. "The government has made us  
responsible for the integrity of the Internet and all things therein. This  
does involve occasional contact with the public. The government does not  
wish for it to be common knowledge that we are not human."  
  
"So what does that have to do with me?" Glitch asked, cocking her head to  
one side.  
  
"The government believes that extensive human contact will deepen our  
understanding of human behavior, so we can imitate it more accurately."  
  
"So what? You want to spend more time with me?" Glitch asked.  
  
Smith's strange smile deepened to flash his teeth. He almost looked  
sadistic. "I know of no other way to explain it to you aside from being  
blunt."  
  
"So be blunt." Glitch said, her voice sounding strained. "What do you want?"  
  
"We have been educated in many forms of human contact save one. That would  
be the intimacy that exists between two humans who are romantically  
involved. The government is telling us that the best example of human  
behavior is found in these intimate human relationships."  
  
Glitch sat in shocked silence, the expression on her face speaking volumes.  
  
Smith gave the same gravelly laugh. It was almost an abrasive sound. "I  
gauged that would be your reaction."  
  
"You want me to have a relationship with you?" She asked, her voice shaking  
with disbelieving laughter.  
  
"In essence yes." Smith answered.  
  
"Gods on high." She breathed looking up at the ceiling.  
  
"In return for your cooperation you will be awarded a clean slate, legally  
speaking." Smith tempted patiently.  
  
Glitch ran her fingers through the roots of her hair. "Will this involve any  
physical intimacy?"  
  
"Of course, as our research shows this to be the basis of all of human  
interaction, especially between males and females." Smith replied.  
  
"No, I don't mean hugs and kisses." Glitch corrected. "I mean real physical  
intimacy." She jerked her thumb at the bed. "Am I going to have to have sex  
with you?"  
  
Smith licked his lips before he gave his calculated reply. "It is a distinct  
possibility."  
  
"Gods." Glitch hissed between her teeth as she flopped back on the bed.  
  
"Do we have a deal?" Smith pressed.  
  
"If I do this, I get off clean?" She asked staring up at the off white  
ceiling. She didn't think she could look at Smith."  
  
"You have my word." He answered smoothly.  
  
Glitch's chest heaved a heavy sigh. "Sold." She said finally.  
  
"Excellent." Smith replied. She could hear the pleased smile spread across  
his face. "I will be here at eight tomorrow morning."  
  
She nodded painfully, partly because she knew what she was doing and partly  
because she wasn't a morning person.  
  
"Ms. Carter, please understand that this is-"  
  
"Yeah I know." She said shortly, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Not to be  
discussed. This never happened. I'm a hacker. I'm good at keeping secrets.  
You won't have to erase my memory or anything."  
  
"I am glad you understand that." Smith said as he got up from the chair. He  
showed himself out leaving Glitch lying limply on the bed.  
  
******  



	4. Figuring It Out

A/N: Greetings once again! Well here comes one of the shortest chapters of  
this fic. Hope you aren't too disappointed. If you are, then deal. This chapter  
will hopefully give you all some insight into Glitch's rather sordid past,  
romantically speaking. Once again cookies go to Rei Kasen for posting this  
for me.   
  
Disclaimer: Blarg. No I don't own The Matrix or anything you recognize from  
it. I do however own Glitch, Slice and anything you don't recognize. The  
song lyrics are from "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne and are not mine  
either.   
  
Rating: It¹s a light R for language and angst. Nothing too bad but still no  
kiddies unless you happen to have dish washing soap to wash their mouths out  
with later.  
  
On with the show!  
  
  
IV: Figuring it out  
  
I'm standing on a bridge  
Waiting in the dark  
I thought that you'd be here by now  
There's nothing but the rain  
No footsteps on the ground  
I'm listening but there's no sound  
Isn't anyone trying to find me?  
Won't somebody come take me home?  
It¹s a damn cold night  
Trying to figure out this lifeS  
******  
  
It took Glitch several rounds of pointless pacing and three uncomforting  
mugs of coffee to calm down. After much debate she decided to call someone.  
If anything she could at least talk and perhaps get some good advice as  
well. Splinter wasn't home and Cancer said Ring was at the Mainframe. She  
didn't want to jeopardize their haven any further so that left one option.  
She called Slice.  
  
She gave him a patchy explanation of what had transpired between herself and  
Agent Smith. Slice told her to meet him at the park bridge because he wanted  
to hear more. Glitch reluctantly agreed and hung up the phone. She took a  
quick glance out the window of her tiny living room and saw that it was  
starting to rain again so before she left her apartment she threw on her  
black raincoat.  
  
The park was all but deserted, due to the dismal drizzle falling from the  
overcast sky. Glitch parked her car by the curb across the street and  
walked across the park to stand on the red bridge. The grass squished  
beneath her feet and her worn tennis shoes slipped on the wet wood of the  
bridge.  
  
Glitch leaned on the rail of the bridge and looked out across the peanut  
shaped pond. The water beneath her was murky and dark. Raindrops disturbed  
the surface. A pair of mallard ducks swam out from under the bridge.  
Following in their wake were three yellow and black ducklings that might  
have been fluffy had they not been soaking wet from the rain. Glitch smiled  
and sighed.  
  
Heavy footsteps crunched up the gravel to Glitch's left and then began to  
pound hollowly up the bridge. "You'll catch your death standing out in the  
rain like that." Slice called as he approached.  
  
Glitch looked over at him. "No I won't." She replied, flatly.  
  
Slice came to stand beside her leaning one elbow on the wide rail. Both his  
hands were jammed in the pockets of his brown trench coat. "So what did the  
feds want?" He asked.  
  
"My computer." She answered with out any more emotion.  
  
"That's all?" Slice asked frowning down at her. "You wouldn't drag my ass  
out into the rain just for that."  
  
"No." She said. "I wanted you to send word to the Mainframe that I won't be  
there for awhile."  
  
"That's understandable." Slice said, now turning and leaning both arms on  
the rail. "And probably best. Going to a hacker hangout won't improve your  
rep with the feds. We'll keep in touch."  
  
"No, you can't." Glitch said firmly, not looking at him.  
  
"Why the hell not?" Slice snapped, sounding confused and angry.  
  
"Because one of the Agents has been ordered toS" She swallowed looking for  
words that didn't make her sound or feel like a whore. "Ordered to live in  
my apartment." She finished finally.  
  
"What?" Slice exclaimed turning to face her. "Fuck no! They don't have that  
kind of authority!"  
  
"Apparently they do." Glitch answered harshly.  
  
"What on earth do they think that will accomplish?" He asked incredulously.  
  
"I don't know." Glitch said gesturing wildly with both hands. "Maybe they  
hope this guy will try to contact me and they can catch him."  
  
"That's why they bug phones and put in cameras." Slice countered. "There's  
something else going on."  
  
Glitch rounded on him. "Look." She snarled her once empty eyes now full of  
gray fire. "I don't know what the fuck they want with me, okay? They won't  
tell me much and what little they do tell me I can't tell you."  
  
"Damn it Simone what can you tell me?" He all but shouted.  
  
Glitch flinched at the sound of her name as though it were a brandished  
whip. "What I found was dangerous. That's all you or anyone needs to know  
right now." Her voice was quieter now. She sounded scared, like a beaten  
puppy.  
  
"But this is just not right!" Slice barked taking a step closer to her. "You  
have to get out of there. Come to my place, or to the Mainframe!"  
  
Glitch placed her small hand on his chest and pushed him back. "I don't need  
you to protect me anymore, Slice. I'm not a child like I used to be and I  
can't run from what's already caught me."  
  
Slice bowed his head, his mahogany hair falling down in his eyes. "I'm  
sorry." He all but whispered. "What do you want me to do?"  
  
"Just tell everyone at the Mainframe that I'm in good hands." Against her  
better judgement, she reached out and touched his arm. "I'm sorry that I  
can't tell you more."  
  
Slice touched the back of her hand with his fingertips. His face searched  
hers. "I'm sorrier that I can't do more." He sighed.  
  
The sky had been darkening all during their conversation and the drizzle had  
begun to turn into rain. "I had better get home." Glitch said pushing away  
from the rail and looking up at the dismal canopy. The look in her eyes was  
as dreary as the clouds.  
  
"Want me to walk you to your car?" Slice offered.  
  
Glitch silently shook her head.  
  
Slice leaned over and wrapped his arms around her slim shoulders. Glitch's  
tiny body was all but swallowed by his trench coat. Slice turned his face  
towards hers and made to kiss her on the cheek but the instant his lips  
brushed her face she flinched and pulled away.  
  
"Good bye, Slice." She whispered quickly before turning from him and  
striding towards her car. She threw the hood of her raincoat up as she went.  
His reply of "Bye Glitch." Was lost in the falling rain.  
  
The moment Glitch got home she made herself a fresh pot of coffee, decaf  
this time. She wanted it more for comfort than anything.  
  
Between sips of the warm drink, Glitch toweled off her wet hair and dressed  
for bed. Her pajamas were always variations of the same thing. Tonight the  
sweatpants were dark red and the tank top was black. The sweatpants were so  
big that the cuffs covered her feet.  
  
She turned back the covers of her tiny bed, before she finished off her  
coffee. She climbed between the sheets and pulled her five-foot long body  
pillow up next to her. With her arms and one leg wrapped securely around it  
she allowed sleep to lull her into dreams.  
  
******


	5. Angel Arms To Hold Me

A/N: Well well, Chapter 5 already? Sorry it took so long to get this typed.  
Its called chemistry tests, prom, and college campus tours. Well here are a  
few notes on this chapter. Yes, Glitch does have a coffee addiction, not  
unlike myself. It¹s a psychological addiction more than a physical one  
meaning she's not addicted to the caffeine. She's addicted to having the mug  
in her hand and having it to fidget with when she's uncomfortable. Ok enough  
of my analysis. Psychology class is dismissed. Cookies to Rei once again for  
posting.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Matrix or Agent Smith. The song lyrics are from  
City of Angels. I'm not sure who sings it. I don't even own Glitch's black  
coffee mug. It belongs to Rei. Geez, I'm borrowing from everyone aren't I?  
Well Glitch is entirely mine so there! No using her without my permission.  
  
Rating: This one is R for language. Glitch, like myself and most of my  
friends, is very foul-mouthed in the morning.  
  
Strap yourselves in! Here we go!  
  
  
V: Angel Arms to Hold Me  
  
Spend all your time waiting  
For that second chance  
For a break that will make it ok  
There's always some reason  
To feel not good enough  
And it's hard at the end of the day  
I need some distraction  
Oh beautiful release  
Memories seep from my veins  
And I'll be empty  
I'll be weightless and maybe  
I'll find some peace tonight  
******  
  
A single ray of sunlight peeked between the blinds to shine on Glitch's  
sleeping face. She hadn't moved at all during the night. She still lay on  
her side with her pale arms wrapped around the pillow beside her. Her  
eyelids twitched as she awoke, reacting to the light pouring down on them.  
  
Her first impulse was to snuggle down into the covers and go back to sleep  
but the ray of sunlight boring into her eyes prevented that. She yawned like  
a cavern and stretched, making many of the joints in her back pop. She  
rolled over to face the rest of the tiny bedroom and she let out a hoarse  
yelp when she saw Agent Smith sitting stiffly in her computer chair facing  
her.  
  
As her heart returned to normal rhythm, she spoke in a scratchy voice. "How  
in the hell did…" She stopped and shook her head. "Never mind. I don't want  
to know." She flopped back on the bed and yawned again. After a moment of  
lying there she decided that she couldn't go back to sleep. She sat up,  
swung her legs off the bed and padded to her chest of drawers. She pulled  
out a fluffy black sweater and threw it on to make herself a little more  
decent. Then she headed for the kitchen.  
  
"I'm assuming you don't drink coffee." She called over her shoulder.  
  
Glitch heard the chair creak as Smith stood. "I do not require any kind of  
sustenance." He replied as he followed after her. "Though I can consume food  
and drink."  
  
"So do you want coffee or not?" Glitch asked rather impatiently as she began  
to fill the coffee maker with water.  
  
Smith frowned at her from behind his dark glasses. "No I would not," he  
replied stiffly. "I do not like your tone, Ms. Carter."  
  
"Yeah well I don't like your coming in my house while I'm still asleep." She  
snapped icily. "So deal."  
  
"I informed you that I would be here at eight this morning." Smith replied,  
obviously not understanding her complaint.  
  
"Well you could have fucking knocked!" She snarled.  
  
Smith seemed slightly taken aback that someone who was so small and slight  
could possess that much animosity. "Are all humans this difficult in the  
morning?" He asked calmly.  
  
Glitch glanced up at him as she refilled the sugar bowl. "Only those who  
aren't morning people," She answered, trying to contain her anger, "like me."  
  
"You do not like morning?" Smith inquired.  
  
"I don't usually see sunlight until noon." She answered, flipping on the  
coffee maker.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I usually stay up late on the computer." She answered as she busied  
herself searching for the biggest coffee mug she owned. Suddenly she slammed  
her tiny hand down on the counter. "Damn it, Smith! Its too early to play  
twenty questions!"  
  
He frowned as if he didn't understand the expression she had used. After a  
moment he seemed to understand "Why not? You can't think as well in the  
morning hours?" He asked.  
  
"No, it's more like I don't want to." She replied as she poured coffee into  
a black mug and came to sit at the bar. She turned the mug so that Smith  
could see the inscription, which read "Save oxygen. Shut up." It wasn't the  
largest mug she owned but she thought it appropriate for the occasion.  
  
"So when do you resume normal thought processes?" Smith asked taking the  
seat across from her.  
  
Glitch sighed heavily. Apparently it was not in his programming to take a  
hint. "After a shower and a second cup of coffee at least." She replied  
before taking a drink.  
  
"Would you prefer me to come back later in the day?" Smith inquired his  
voice holding the barest hint of irritation. "Because I sense that I am  
wasting my time here."  
  
"Good call." Glitch thought. She set her mug down and replied politely.  
"That would be nice."  
  
"Perhaps about one this afternoon?"  
  
She nodded again. "I'll be awake and coherent by then."  
  
Smith stood from his chair and smoothed his suit. "Very well." He said as he  
made his way towards the door. He paused with his hand over the handle and  
looked back at Glitch. She looked back at him over the edge of her mug as  
she took a drink. "I would like to ask one more question."  
  
"Shoot." She replied setting her mug down.  
  
"Why do you hug your pillow when you sleep?" He asked his face and voice  
perfectly neutral though he seemed to know he was treading dangerous ground.  
  
Glitch's eyes fixed on him, becoming like charcoal mirrors, only reflecting  
what they see. The inquiry swirled in her mind making a definitive answer  
hard to grasp. At length, she licked her lips and spoke. "Because there is  
nothing else to hug." She replied.  
  
"But why-" he began but Glitch raised a hand for silence  
  
"You said one question. I'll see you this afternoon." She stood from her  
chair and made her way to her bedroom carrying her mug along with her. She  
heard Smith close the door behind him as he left.  
  
She went into her tiny bathroom and started the water in the tub. She set  
the coffee mug on the counter and began to undress. When she had stripped  
off her pajamas and laid them on top of the sink she stepped into the tub  
and turned on the shower.  
  
Glitch let the stream of hot water plaster her dark hair to her head and  
wash all the tension from her mind. The scent of her lavender shampoo  
clouded over her thoughts though Smith's last inquiry still rang in her  
mind. She did not dwell on it too terribly long though. She knew she had  
given him her best answer but she also knew that the subject would be  
discussed later. It would have to be.  
  
She shut her eyes tightly, partly to keep the water out of her eyes as she  
rinsed her hair and also to try and block out all thoughts of what she was  
doing. She knew she was all but selling herself. Sure it would keep her out  
of jail but at what cost?  
  
When she had finished her shower, Glitch shut off the water and gave her  
chin length hair a hard shake. She stepped out of the tub and pulled a towel  
off the rack on the wall. As she dried herself off her reflection in the  
steamy mirror caught her eye.  
  
There was nothing to write home about in the reflection. Her soaking wet  
hair did nothing to lessen this effect. What she saw she would have  
described with words like average, simple and normal. She looked like  
everyone else, save the small scar on her lower lip from falling down a  
flight of stairs as a child. Even then, no one would notice it unless they  
were looking for it.  
  
Glitch sighed as she hung the damp towel over the shower rod to dry. She  
pulled her pajamas back on and left the bathroom, grabbing her coffee mug as  
she went. When she had finished her second cup of coffee she got dressed and  
started straightening up the apartment. It wasn't a horrible mess but it  
wasn't tidy by any means. After observing the state of Smith's clothing she  
concluded he liked his surroundings neat and orderly. While this was not her  
style, Glitch decided that she could make the sacrifice for now. Hopefully  
she wouldn't be in this situation for very long.  
  
Smith knocked on Glitch's door at one in the afternoon exactly. Glitch  
finished pouring herself her third cup of coffee before she answered the  
door.  
  
"Good afternoon, Ms. Carter." Smith greeted none too warmly.  
  
"Good afternoon, Agent Smith." She returned trying to show a bit more  
enthusiasm. Their heated exchange that morning had shown Glitch that he  
could read every inflection in her voice.  
  
Smith stepped into the apartment and followed Glitch into the kitchen and  
they both sat on the stools by the bar. The scene looked much as it did that  
morning save that Glitch was now wearing faded jeans and a black long  
sleeved shirt and her coffee mug was now white with ladybugs on it.  
  
Smith watched her take a long drink from the mug from behind his dark  
glasses. "What is the purpose of your drinking that constantly?"  
  
Glitch's shoulders lifted in a graceful shrug. "I dunno." She replied as she  
set the mug down.  
  
"Is it because you like the taste or need the caffeine to function or-"  
  
She ran one of her fingers around the rim of the mug. "I think it's really  
just an object to occupy my mind. Living alone can get a little boring at  
times and when I'm bored I think way too much."  
  
Smith made no other remarks as he watched her trace the rim of the mug  
intently as if he were trying to learn something from it. Maybe he was.  
  
After a rather weighted silence, Glitch spoke. "So when will we be getting  
started on this whole human dating intimacy thing?" She asked in a tone that  
suggested that she found the situation both amusing and disturbing.  
  
Smith casually removed his dark glasses and slipped them into the pocket of  
his coat. "I was hoping you could tell me how it begins."  
  
"What do you mean?" Glitch asked focusing her gray eyes on her finger as she  
traced the rim of her mug. She didn't think she could keep a level head and  
look into those eyes. They looked artificial. Hell they were articical. No  
one had eyes that blue.  
  
"How does human intimacy begin?" He pressed.  
  
Glitch frowned in thought. "Well it usually starts with a guy and a girl  
becoming close friends and they - hell I don't know. Do friend stuff."  
  
"Define 'friend stuff.'" Smith requested.  
  
Glitch sighed with exasperation. "Like going to a book store or getting  
coffee and going for a walk." She suggested. "Just something where they can  
enjoy each other's company without it just being the two of them alone."  
  
"It is a comfortable day outside." Smith said, his voice still neutral. "A  
walk in the nearby park would be possible."  
  
"You want to?" Glitch asked. To her, her tone sounded disturbingly hopeful.  
She was hoping to sound casual.  
  
"I wish to learn more about human intimacy." Smith replied.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes." She huffed her voice losing its sparkle.  
  
******  



	6. Impossible Lesson

A/N: Hello again all. I hope no one has been just dying to read this next  
installment. I have so much on my plate right now its not even funny. I'm  
sorry that this can't take priority. Graduating high school is just a tad  
more important as was a short story I'm writing for possible publication.  
The short story is finished now but its not going to get much better for  
awhile - as in mid June, which is when, I get back from summer vacation. *sigh*  
I'm also sorry for the lack of originality of the song lyrics. I don't get  
out much musically speaking. I listen to whatever my friends hand me. Keep  
the reviews coming!!! I really appreciate all the feed back I'm hearing.  
  
Disclaimer: The song is from Green Day. I do not, of course, own the Matrix  
or Agent Smith. I do own Glitch, the restaurant The Traditional Rose and the  
character Ring. Credit goes to my friend Lira for the name of the restaurant.  
  
Rating: PG-13 for language and angst. There's nothing terribly offensive but  
still no kiddies allowed.  
  
  
VI: Impossible Lesson  
  
_Another turning point  
A fork stuck in the road  
Time grabs you by the wrists  
Directs you where to go  
So make the best of this test  
And don't ask why  
Its not a question   
But a lesson learned in time_  
  
******  
  
Glitch and Smith stepped out of her apartment building and onto the bustling  
sidewalk. They defined odd couple to the letter with Smith in his starched  
suit and dark sunglasses and Glitch in her faded jeans and ratty tennis  
shoes. She had to take at least two steps to his one just to keep up with  
him, as she was nearly a head shorter than Smith.  
  
"So tell me something about yourself." Glitch said after several blocks of  
silent walking in the hazy sunlight that filtered through the clouds.  
  
"What do you want to know?" He asked not looking down at her.  
  
She shrugged, putting her hands in her pockets. "I don't know. Anything."  
  
"There is nothing I am at liberty to tell you." He replied.  
  
Glitch sighed. "This conversation is going nowhere."  
  
"What could be done to alleviate this?" Smith asked, not looking down at  
her.  
  
"Well you could ask something about me." Glitch suggested. "It would be a  
way to start things off."  
  
Smith seemed to think for a moment, though Glitch wasn't sure if it could  
really be defined as thinking. Would processing have been a better word? At  
length he spoke, "Why do your friends call you Glitch?" He asked.  
  
"It's my hacker alias." She replied as she zipped up her fleece jacket  
against the wind that blustered up the street.  
  
"How did you get it?" Smith asked, his voice sounding almost conversational.  
  
Glitch smiled to herself. Perhaps this wouldn't be so hard. He was starting  
to get the idea of conversation. "A friend of mine at the Mainframe gave it  
to me, because my specialty in the hacking world is turning small problems  
into major ones."  
  
"You create computer viruses." His voice was gaining a chastising edge.  
  
"Well, I don't create them per se, though I can." Glitch explained. "I just  
find ways to introduce them so that they look like a small anomaly."  
  
"A glitch." Smith said.  
  
Glitch smiled then, showing her small white teeth. "Exactly."  
  
Smith however did not smile. "You are aware that the act of introducing  
malicious viruses is illegal?"  
  
She gave a mental sigh. So much for him understanding conversation. "None of  
my stuff does any real harm though." Glitch replied, in a weak attempt to  
defend herself. "What they do is reversible and-" She stopped talking and  
frowned. "This is not exactly what we should be talking about." She said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Smith inquired.  
  
"You berating me for my choice of hobbies does not fall under the heading of  
friendly idle chatter." She said.  
  
Smith was silent for a moment as they walked. "You never answered my  
question from this morning." He stated finally.  
  
"Your question?" Glitch asked. "Which one? You asked like fifty."  
  
"No, I did not." Smith countered.  
  
"I know. I was exaggerating." Glitch replied rather darkly. "You know, being  
sarcastic?"  
  
"I was referring to my question about your choice of sleeping positions."  
Smith said stiffly as they crossed the street to the park. Glitch noted he  
did not look both ways before stepping off the curb.  
  
"About my hugging my pillow?" Glitch asked looking up at him. "I thought I  
answered that."  
  
"Not sufficiently." Smith answered shortly. "I still do not understand why  
you do it."  
  
Glitch was silent until they reached the bridge that spanned the duck pond.  
She leaned on the rail and gazed out over the water as she spoke. "It¹s an  
intimacy thing." She said finally.  
  
Smith's face twitched with curiosity. "Go on." He implored.  
  
"Nearly all of human interaction is based on physical contact." Glitch  
continued. "We shake hands or give hugs when we meet each other. We  
sometimes pat each other on the back to show approval. Couples will often  
times have their arms around each other or hold hands." She glanced over at  
Smith who showed no sign of understanding a word of what she was talking  
about. She heaved an exasperated sigh and ran a hand thought her hair. "I  
don't know how to explain it to you, Agent Smith. It's an emotional thing. A  
human thing. You're a machine. It's like trying to explain a rainbow to  
someone who is blind."  
  
"You could at least try." Smith implored sounding a touch insulted.  
  
Glitch sighed again and cast her charcoal gray eyes about the park. She  
spied two high school age teenagers holding hands as they walked around the  
edge of the pond. "Great." She thought. "A visual example."  
  
"Ok, Smith, do you see those kids?" She asked pointing them out.  
  
Smith scanned the park for a moment before his gaze found the couple. "Yes."  
He answered.  
  
"Do you see how they are holding hands?" She didn't wait for him to respond.  
"That's what I'm talking about. They hold hands because it¹s reassuring.  
They know the other person is there."  
  
"Only couples engage in this behavior?" Smith asked still watching the  
teenagers with increasing interest.  
  
Glitch fought a frown. She didn't like Smith's phrasing. He made the human  
race sound like a flock of tropical birds in mating season. "Well yes and  
no." She replied slowly.  
  
"Can you explain this to me?" Smith requested, his voice still abysmally  
neutral.  
  
"Well the need for physical contact is a major part of our biological  
wiring." Glitch told him. "From the time we are born we have an inner drive  
to be touched. Babies can die if they are not held and caressed and it  
carries over into our adult lives. We don't die of course but if we are  
denied human contact it does affect one's mental and emotional state. "  
  
"So you are starved for human contact?" Smith said conclusively, turning a  
meaningful look to Glitch. "That's why you hug your pillow when you sleep?"  
  
Glitch laughed abrasively. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. To be touched  
can have a variety of meanings. It can be meant to show compassion or love  
or protection among a huge array of other messages. I hug my pillow I guess  
because I need that sense of being secure and protected."  
  
"Then why do you not seek out another's company?" He asked.  
  
She dropped her gaze, which was now empty and murky as the water under the  
bridge. "Having a significant other makes my life too complicated."  
  
"You seemed quick enough to accept my bargain." Smith noted, arching an  
eyebrow.  
  
Glitch made a derisive sound. "Consider my choices, Smith. It was crash  
course you in human intimacy or be arrested and go to jail. Having you  
around may complicate the ever loving hell out of my life but it beats the  
pants off the alternative."  
  
"What would be the alternative." Smith asked rather pointedly  
  
Glitch opened her mouth to speak and then closed it for a moment as if she  
didn't trust her mouth to form the words that wouldn't burn to speak. "Being  
put in jail." She said finally.  
  
"Not being alone?" Smith asked, noting her discomfort.  
  
Glitch raised her empty eyes and gazed at the couple across the pond. She  
sighed heavily as she watched them kiss innocently, just a mere brush of  
lips. Something about the smile on the girl's face told her that there  
hadn't been many kisses before this. "I'm used to being alone." She replied  
in a hollow tone.  
  
"But you said it was a basic need of humanity for physical contact. How do  
you live with out it?" Smith asked, in a rather confused voice.  
  
Glitch turned her head away slightly. "Physical contact like that is not  
something that can be shared with just anyone." She said, hoping she was  
speaking loud enough for Smith to hear. She didn't know if she could stand  
to repeat herself. "It has its costs. Emotional costs."  
  
"You know this?" Smith asked, stepping closer. "How?"  
  
"I gambled with things like that once. Love. Romance." She said distantly.  
"It was a long time ago. I gambled, lost and paid the emotional cost in full  
and it still smarts, believe me."  
  
"What do you mean?" Smith inquired growing more befuddled by the moment.  
  
"Relationships like that," She nodded to the couple across the pond, "They  
don't last."  
  
"Then what is the purpose of marriage?" Smith questioned obviously still  
puzzled.  
  
Glitch smiled slightly. "Perhaps that was a bit pessimistic of me." She  
said. "Relationships like that don't always last and when they end it's  
emotionally painful. You're suddenly deprived of the attention and affection  
the other person provided and it hurts for a very long time. Like I said, I  
know. I've been there before."  
  
"How so?" Smith asked.  
  
Glitch sighed heavily. She was growing tired of Smith's constant inquiries.  
They were dredging up memories better left buried. "I don't want to talk  
about it." She said softly.  
  
Smith took an ominous step forward. "I need to know." He said firmly.  
  
"No you don't." Glitch replied vehemently. "I said I don't want to talk  
about it. Maybe we can some other time, but not now." She sighed and  
swallowed back the tears collecting in her throat. "I can't put it into  
words anyway. We can't start off like this. You can't understand losing  
something you never had. At least not yet. "  
  
Smith was silent for a moment as he processed what she had just told him.  
"How do you intend to make me understand?" He asked.  
  
Glitch shrugged. "Date you I guess." She said casually.  
  
"Then what action would we need to take next?" He asked, as he adjusted the  
cuffs of his jacket.  
  
Glitch's face turned pensive as she cocked her head in thought. She opened  
her mouth to speak but she flinched.  
  
"What is it?" Smith asked.  
  
Glitch raised her hand and wiped her cheek. Her fingers came away moist. "Uh  
oh." She said.  
  
Smith's brow furrowed slightly. "What's happening?"  
  
Glitch looked up at the slate colored sky warily. "It's starting to rain."  
She said throwing up the hood of her jacket. "Come on! If we hurry we might  
be able to out run it." Without thinking she grabbed his hand and took off  
running.  
  
The couple didn't get far, not even two blocks, before they were showered  
with armies of raindrops. They were still four blocks from Glitch's  
apartment and were drenched before they got inside the lobby.  
  
Glitch collapsed against a column by the door laughing, her hair in dripping  
ropes despite her hood. Smith, looking decidedly irritated, took off his  
sunglasses and began to dry them with a linen handkerchief.  
  
"Why are you laughing?" He asked, obviously not amused in the least.  
  
"I don't know." She answered, still giggling madly. "Its just funny. I'm  
sure we both look ridiculous."  
  
"You never answered my question." He stated as he put the handkerchief away.  
  
"Right. You need to know what the next step in dating is." She said as she  
peeled off her soaked jacket.  
  
His reply was a terse nod.  
  
"Well I guess you have to ask me on a date." She shrugged.  
  
"How would I go about this?" Smith asked.  
  
Glitch leaned thoughtfully against the column behind her. "Well, usually the  
guy asks the girl to go out with him to a nice restaurant for dinner or to  
the movies or something like that. You know, where it's just the two of  
them."  
  
The corner of the Agent's mouth curled into the most of a smile he could  
manage. Glitch could see the wheels turning behind his dark blue eyes. It  
seemed that he had been waiting for this for some time. "Where would you  
like to go, Ms. Carter?"  
  
Glitch smiled back at him. "Well when do you want to do something would be a  
better question to start off."  
  
"Tonight would be best." He answered. "The other Agents will be putting the  
surveillance equipment on your computer this evening at seven p.m."  
  
Glitch folded her arms across her chest and nodded in understanding. "Well,  
my favorite restaurant is a few blocks away, and I don't have dinner plans  
for tonight." She said in a tempting voice.  
  
"What is the name of this restaurant?" Smith asked as he straightened his  
tie.  
  
"The Traditional Rose." She replied her smile growing. This was going well.  
Maybe she wouldn't have to spoon-feed him everything.  
  
"I shall make reservations for six p.m. tonight then." Smith told her in an  
official sounding tone.  
  
Glitch nodded, her smile widening. "That sounds wonderful."  
  
"I will see you at a quarter to six then, Ms. Carter." Smith said as he  
turned toward the door.  
  
"You can call me Simone." She called after him.  
  
He paused and turned back towards her. "But that would place us on a first  
name basis."  
  
She gave another of her signature shrugs. "Suit yourself." She said  
casually. "I'll see you tonight."  
  
"Good bye, Ms. Carter." Smith said and he stepped out the door into the  
driving rain.  
  
Glitch thought about calling after him, "Don't short a circuit in the rain!"  
But she thought better of it. Smith's sense of humor seemed nonexistent. She  
bounded up the stairs to her floor enthusiastically occasionally climbing  
two at a time. When she reached her apartment her face split with an excited  
smile. She had no idea why she was so thrilled. After all, it wasn't a real  
date. Smith didn't feel anything for her. He couldn't. This was a job to  
him, an assignment. Still a tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered  
gleefully, "I have a date tonight!"  
  
Glitch went to her closet to begin looking for something to wear for dinner  
only to find that she had nothing. Her wardrobe consisted only of jeans,  
sweatshirts and tee shirts and she needed a dress. Glitch hadn't worn a  
dress since her grandmother's funeral five years ago and it had been  
borrowed from her cousin.  
  
She then went to the phone and called up Ring, dialing her number from  
memory.   
  
"Hey Glitch! What's up?"  
  
"A lot actually." Glitch replied flopping down in her computer chair. "Do  
you have a dress I can borrow?"  
  
There was a stunned silence from Ring before she spoke, "You need a dress?"  
She asked, her voice colored with laughter. "Glitch, the Queen of Jeans,  
needs a dress? What the frickin' hell for?"  
  
"I have a date tonight." She replied sheepishly.  
  
"Shit, chick! When did this happen?" Ring exclaimed. "It's not Slice is it?"  
  
"No, of course not." She answered incredulously. "You don't know him anyway.  
I met him a few days ago."  
  
"Well, at least give me a name." Ring requested.  
  
"I can't."   
  
There was another long silence. "Fine. Keep your damn secrets. I trust your  
taste. So what kind of dress do you need?"  
  
"Something sophisticated. Black maybe."  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"The Traditional Rose." Glitch replied. "For dinner tonight."  
  
"On the classy side..." Ring said thoughtfully. "I think I have  
something."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"What? You don't trust my taste? It¹s a safe black dress, I promise."  
  
"Alright, alright." Glitch said. "Can you bring it by in an hour?"  
  
"Sure thing. I'll see you then." Ring replied.  
  
"Later." Glitch said before hanging up the phone. She ran a hand through her  
hair. It was still soaking wet, which meant she probably looked like a  
drowned rodent. Glitch heaved a sigh and trudged towards the bathroom, shaking drops from her hand as she went. It looked like she was going to need another shower.  
  
******


	7. Suddenly

A/N: Greetings again one and all! I hope no one has been just on the edge of  
their seat waiting for this chapter. I said it before and I'll say it again,  
until I graduate, this stays on the back burner. I hate it as much as you do,  
believe me but I have to pass my chemistry exam. I just hope it's worth the  
wait for you. Cookies to Rei for posting. MERCI!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Matrix. The song lyrics are  
from Moulin Rouge. I do however own the Traditional Rose and Glitch. No  
using them without my permission or, as my friend Rei says, "I shall break your  
kneecaps! KNEECAPS I SAY!!!" *Ahem * …Sorry.  
  
Rating: R for language and angst. If any kids have read it thus far, I will  
tell you that your parents aren't worth a grain of salt and it's their fault  
that American teenagers these days are as psycho and perverted as they are.  
Not that I'm one to talk…  
  
Ok, moving on before I get myself in any more trouble. Allow me to present the next  
installment of A Glitch in his Breathing.  
  
*Lights dim *  
  
*Camera rolling*  
  
And…aaaaaaction! ^_^  
  
  
Chapter VII: Suddenly  
  
_Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place  
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace  
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste  
It all revolves around you…_  
******  
  
Glitch turned around a few times in front of the full-length mirror that  
hung on the back of her bedroom door. She smirked slightly at what she saw.  
Ring's black dress fit her like a glove, clinging in all the right places  
and leaving all the wrong ones alone. Her legs which, despite the fact that  
she was short, looked very long courtesy of the high slits on either side of  
the dress and Ring's four inch stiletto heels. All in all she thought she  
looked pretty damn good. She had even taken time to blow dry her hair which,  
accompanied by a spritz of hairspray diminished frizzies and made it look  
silky. She even was wearing makeup. She only hoped that all her hard work  
would pay off and Smith would find her attractive.  
  
She stopped turning and frowned at herself. Was Smith even capable of  
finding someone attractive? He was a machine, albeit a very smart one. He  
could think for himself. That much was obvious but was that the extent of  
his abilities? Did he have more human functions? What if he didn't? That  
would complicate things unbelievably. Getting him to understand human  
intimacy would be impossible if he couldn't feel the emotions that were  
involved.   
  
Then another problem dawned on her. Was he anatomically capable of having  
intercourse? Glitch blushed slightly at that. "Only time will tell." Glitch  
sighed to herself. Then her smirk returned as a voice in her head sounding  
suspiciously like Ring - "Besides, I know I look good. If he's not wired  
well enough to realize it then it's his loss."  
  
A knock at the door shattered her musings. Glitch glanced at the wall clock  
as she went to answer it. It was six p.m. exactly. Smith was lucky she  
wasn't like most women or he might have been waiting another ten minutes.  
Smith didn't rub off on her as being too terribly patient.  
  
"Good evening, Ms. Carter." Smith greeted with the same emotionless tone he  
always used in greeting.  
  
"Hello, Agent Smith." She returned politely.  
  
"You changed clothes." He stated observantly, his voice still neutral.  
  
"Yeah, I wanted to look a little more special." Glitch said, taking a step  
back so he could get a good look at her outfit.  
  
He looked her over for a moment before he spoke. "That dress makes you look  
sophisticated," he said simply after a moment's analysis. It sounded more  
like a statement than a compliment but it proved he could have an opinion.  
  
Glitch heaved a mental sigh of relief. "Halle-fucking-lujah, there is hope  
yet." She thought.  
  
"I have made reservations at the Traditional Rose as you asked," Smith  
informed her in a more official voice than was necessary. "Are you ready to  
go?"  
  
Glitch nodded. "Let me get my coat." She retrieved her leather jacket from  
the back of a chair in the kitchen along with her purse. "Is it still  
raining outside?"   
  
"It was not when I arrived." Smith replied.  
  
"Good," Glitch said with a nod as she walked past Smith and out the door.  
  
Nothing more was said on the short walk to the Traditional Rose. Glitch  
discovered that her heels made it even more difficult for her to keep up  
with Smith's long, easy strides. He didn't seem to notice. Glitch just kept  
telling herself that being a few inches taller might come in handy later on  
that night.  
  
When they reached the restaurant, Smith stepped ahead of Glitch and pulled  
the door open for her. She smiled appreciatively as she stepped inside.  
  
"Why did you do that?" She asked over her shoulder as he followed her  
inside.  
  
"A certain amount of etiquette is programmed into my actions," Smith  
answered as she smoothed the lapels of his coat. "It is proper for a man to  
open the door for a woman."  
  
"Ah. Programming. Of course," Glitch muttered as she watched Smith go to the  
maitre'd counter and claim their table. After a moment of terse  
conversation, Smith motioned for her to follow him.  
  
They were seated on the second floor of the restaurant by a window that over  
looked the city streets below. Smith saw to seating Glitch first before  
sitting rigidly in his chair across from her. He took off his sunglasses and  
tucked them in his jacket pocket.  
  
After a moment of silence, Glitch asked, "Who decided your eyes got to be  
blue?"  
  
Smith frowned, looking as though her inquiry had caught him off guard. "I…

I don't know." It was as close to a stammer as Glitch had ever heard him give.  
"Why do you ask?"  
  
Glitch shrugged. "I was just wondering," She said casually. "They are just  
such a pretty color, I wondered if anyone picked it or if it served a  
particular purpose." She picked up a menu and began to examine it.  
  
Smith's frown deepened in confusion. "What made you notice?" he asked.  
  
Glitch glanced at him over the top of her menu. "Eye color is one of the  
first things I notice about people, and in some cases, the first."  
  
"Do all humans take note of such things?"  
  
"Not always. Some people notice other things like height or hair color," she  
replied as she put down her menu. "With me, it's eyes. I don't really know  
why. It's just a personality quirk of mine."  
  
Smith regarded her for a moment, his navy eyes searching her face as though  
it was a wall and he was trying to find a fault. "Your eyes are gray," he  
said finally.  
  
All Glitch could do was smile, because the waiter chose that moment to arrive. He  
took their drink and food orders. Glitch ordered their chicken penne pasta  
and Smith picked the New York Strip steak. Glitch caught the fact that he  
never picked up his menu.  
  
"I assume you like Italian food," Smith said in an observant voice after the  
waiter had taken their menus and left.  
  
Glitch shrugged. "When I'm in the mood," she replied. "Is there any kind of  
food you like?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.  
  
"No."  
  
"Why? Can you not taste?" Glitch asked.  
  
"No. Not in the same way humans do. I can analyze the chemical make up of  
what I'm eating, but it is not the same as 'tasting' it."  
  
Glitch fought the urge to frown. She still didn't like the way he said the  
word "human." It almost sounded like an insult.  
  
Smith looked around the interior of the restaurant. "Tell me why it is that  
you like to come here," he said inquiringly.  
  
Glitch gave another of her casual shrugs. "Because its cozy and romantic,"  
she replied, smiling slightly.  
  
"You come here with your romantic interests?" Smith asked as the waiter  
brought them their drinks.  
  
Glitch gave the server an appreciative smile before answering Smith. "Well, I  
did when I had them sometimes, and I suppose I would if I had one now. I come  
alone usually."  
  
"How can it be romantic if you are here alone?" Smith asked, regarding her  
carefully. "It is my understanding that one must be with another person to  
make the situation romantic."  
  
Glitch smiled as she took a long slow sip of her water. "It's just the  
atmosphere," she replied. "Seeing the couples together, snuggling in the  
booths and…" She paused her eyes falling on a rose in a lovely crystal vase  
on the table. "I love the roses on the table." She reached out her hand to  
the stem of the crimson blossom and turned it in her fingers.  
  
"You like roses?" Smith asked, watching her intently.  
  
She nodded mutely, her eyes fixed on the velvety petals.  
  
"Why?"  
  
She laughed. It was a soft, almost sullen sound. She glanced quickly at Smith  
before returning her gaze to the bloom. "I like roses because they are so  
uniquely beautiful. I mean not just unto themselves, but there are lots of  
kinds of roses. They come in all sorts of colors and shapes and-"  
  
Smith cut her off with a particularly scathing comment. "The fact that roses  
are a tradition of human romance has nothing to do with it." He fixed his  
azure gaze on her, waiting for her response.  
  
She sighed and dropped her hand from the rose. "That, too." She replied in a  
defeated voice.  
  
"Have you ever received a rose from someone?" He asked, his eyes still  
locked onto her, like a wolf watching a lone lamb.  
  
Every shadow in the room flew into her eyes. "I have," she replied darkly,  
"But I would prefer not to discuss it."  
  
There was a bit of a stare down between the couple and the hostility that  
hung in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. Glitch looked as  
though she were daring Smith to push the issue. Mercifully, the waiter chose  
that moment to arrive with a drink refill.  
  
Glitch took a long slow sip of her water, as though she was washing away the  
sudden surge of emotions. She was still staring at Smith over the rim of her  
glass. Without any sort of sign he pressed his index finger against his  
earpiece and listened, frowning in concentration.  
  
"What is it?" Glitch asked, setting her glass down.  
  
Smith's face twitched into an odd smile after a moment. He almost looked  
amused. "I just received news from my superiors."  
  
"Gods," Glitch breathed. "And I thought having a cell phone made some people  
too connected."  
  
Smith ignored her comment. "I was told that they have just left your house."  
  
"And what did they say?" She asked as the waiter arrived with their food.  
  
Smith glanced warily at the waiter, choosing to give his reply after  
the waiter had left.  
  
"They are very pleased that you have come upon the codes," Smith replied as  
he began to cut his steak into pieces.  
  
Glitch frowned at him. He had hardly seemed pleased when he had first come  
to her apartment. "I hear a 'but' coming," she said suspiciously.  
  
Smith frowned back at her, clearly not understanding the cliché.  
  
She waved her fork at him before spearing her pasta with it. "Never mind.  
Just keep talking."  
  
Smith returned his attention to his food as he continued on. "But certain  
measures will have to be taken with you to ensure the integrity of the  
system." He said before taking a bite of his steak. Glitch noted he looked  
like he was chewing a piece of candle wax, but what stood out to her more  
was Smith's tone when speaking the word "measures."  
  
He quickly swallowed and continued before she could raise a question. "They  
are telling me that you must not be allowed to remember finding the codes."  
  
Glitch's stomach gave an involuntary lurch and she nearly gagged on the piece  
of penne she was eating. After taking a moment to cough, she raggedly  
managed, "You're going to brain wash me?!" she exclaimed, her voice rising in  
volume a little more than she had wanted.  
  
Smith glanced around them to make sure no one was listening. "No," he  
answered, "Not in the crude sense you are familiar with."  
  
"What exactly are you wanting to do to me?" she asked, fighting to keep her  
voice down.  
  
"The human mind is a computer. You said so yourself this afternoon, did you  
not?"  
  
She nodded slowly as she took another bite of her pasta.  
  
"If a mind is a computer, then it can be hacked into and files can be  
altered, added, or deleted," Smith stated simply.  
  
Glitch looked skeptical. "So in essence you can destroy memories?" she  
asked.  
  
Smith nodded, a strange glint shining in his unnaturally blue eyes. Glitch translated it as something almost  
akin to pride.  
  
"Is it painful?"  
  
"No."  
  
An odd smile curled Glitch's thin lips.  
  
"What are you smiling about?" Smith asked.  
  
"Could you make me forget dating you?" she asked, deviously.  
  
Smith sneered darkly. "Absolutely," he replied. "That was part of the plans  
for you."  
  
"Excellent," Glitch said, her smile widening to flash her small teeth.  
  
Smith's smile faded a bit. "Why do you want us to make you forget that?" he  
asked.  
  
Glitch glanced up at him and noted his rather peculiar expression. Had she  
wounded his ego by saying she wanted to forget dating him? Did he even have  
an ego? He was a machine, after all. "Remembering dating an AI would make my  
life too fucking complicated."  
  
"If I were human, would you want to forget?" he asked, his expression  
remaining unchanged.  
  
Glitch gave him a long contemplative look before she gave her most honest  
answer. "I don't know."  
  
Something about that seemed to please Smith, because he returned to his food.  
  
At the end of dinner, Smith paid the bill, leaving a tip of exactly 15  
percent. He and Glitch walked wordlessly back to her apartment.  
  
"When would you like to do something again?" Smith asked as Glitch unlocked  
her apartment door.  
  
She smiled a bit as she opened the door. "Call me tomorrow afternoon. I  
should be home since it's Saturday."  
  
Smith gave a slow nod. "Is there anything I should do before leaving?"  
  
"A hug would be nice." Glitch answered, giving him her cutest smile.  
  
Smith hesitated, as though the thought of having to touch Glitch had never  
crossed his mind. He bent slightly at the waist, almost like a courtly bow  
and wrapped his arms around Glitch. He gave her tiny body a nearly  
imperceptible squeeze and released her quickly, as though their first contact  
had been more awkward than he had planned.  
  
"Not bad for a first try," Glitch commented, leaning against the doorframe.  
She had been pleased with herself. Not only had she not backed down, but  
her heels had also allowed her to place her chin comfortably on Smith's shoulder.  
She made a mental note to thank Ring later.  
  
Smith wordlessly straightened his tie and smoothed the lapels of his coat as  
though he was trying to brush the touch away.  
  
"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Glitch said, smiling.  
  
"Tomorrow afternoon," Smith confirmed, his tone sounding a touch  
professional.  
  
"Alright then," she said. "Good night, Agent Smith."  
  
"Good night, Ms. Carter."  
  
*******


	8. The Past of Simone

A/N: Hello all! Wow! Graduation is here for me! After four years I'm done  
with high school. The story should come a little faster now that I don't  
have chemistry to study and government essays to write. I hope none of you  
have been on pins and needles waiting on this, but judging by the lack of  
reviews, I doubt it… (hint hint hint--want more reviews--hint hint hint)  
Anyway…  
  
Disclaimers: I hate these damn things…No I don't own anyone in the Matrix or  
the Matrix Reloaded. The song lyrics are from the song "Simone" by Henry  
Gross. They are where I actually got Glitch's real name as well as some  
ideas about her personality. I do own Glitch and Ring though so not using  
them without my permission.  
  
Rating: This chappie is a pretty strong R for language and adult topics of  
conversation. We get a look at Ring's rather perverse sense of humor. No  
kiddies allowed. Parents…once again I am old enough to read and write this.  
Just because this kind of material is out here doesn't mean your little brat  
should be reading it. It is YOUR responsibility.  
  
Ok…now that I'm off my soap box… on with the show!  


  
Chapter VIII: The Past of Simone  
  
  
_Simone though I know  
How you've tried not to show  
That you'll leave me on my own some day  
Here in my heart I can say  
  
Simone we've begun  
And darling you're the one  
I've been saving up these words to say  
All my life for today  
_  
******  
  
Glitch awoke earlier than usual the next morning. She padded barefoot into  
the kitchen and began to make herself her morning coffee as she hummed a  
verse of a Billy Joel song to herself.  
  
She spent the morning doing nothing of any real relevance though she did  
catch up on some reading she had been meaning to do. It was high time that  
she got Splinter's Chuck Palahniuk books back to him. Her stay at home job  
as a computer programmer was a great cover for her life as a hacker but  
lately, it had been taking over her life.  
  
About noon the phone rang. Glitch all but pounced on the phone but was  
surprised to find that it was not Agent Smith calling her, but her best  
friend Ring.   
  
"Hello, love bird."  
  
Glitch laughed. "Don't call me that."  
  
"Hey, I'll call you whatever I fucking please." She returned with mocking  
indignance. "At least until you tell me who your mystery man is."  
  
At that moment, Glitch would have sold her soul to be able to tell Ring what  
was going on. It had been so long since she and Ring had dissolved into  
giggles like schoolgirls over something that had happened on a date. But  
how could she even tell her the half of it? It would only raise more  
questions that she couldn't answer. Hell, she probably didn't even know the  
answer to some of the things Ring might ask. Like Smith's first name. Did he  
even fucking have one?  
  
"I really don't want to say anything about him. At least not yet." She lied.  
"He's really shy."  
  
Ring heaved an exasperated sigh. "Fine, fine. At least tell me what the man  
looks like. Is he cute?"  
  
"Oh honey!" Glitch breathed as she melted down onto her bed. "You have no  
idea!"  
  
"So what's his best feature?" Ring probed. "Eyes? Hair?" Then her voice  
dropped to a more risqué-sounding octave. "His lips?"  
  
Glitch actually giggled in a very school-age fashion. "His eyes." She said.  
"His eyes are blue."  
  
"Oooh!" Ring breathed. "Blue like what? Are they sky blue? Bahama Ocean  
water blue?"  
  
"No, no." Glitch said. "They're darker than that, like navy blue."  
  
"Does that occur naturally?"  
  
"I think it does for him. He doesn't wear contacts."  
  
"So…" Ring said drawing out the "O" and then pausing dramatically. "Have you  
done the deed?"  
  
"What?!" Glitch exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, don't you 'What?!' me." Ring replied sounding rather huffy. "You know  
damn well what I mean."  
  
"Yeah I know what you mean but don't you think it¹s a bit quick for me to be  
jumping his bones." Glitch asked. "We've only had one date."  
  
There was a silence on the other end of the line.  
  
Glitch heaved a sigh and took the bridge of her nose in her free hand.  
"Right. I forgot who I was talking to."  
  
"Is it even a possibility?" Ring asked.  
  
Glitch gave one of her signature nonchalant shrugs. "He's male. Of course  
it¹s a possibility."  
  
"You and Slice didn't while you were together." She pointed out. "At least  
if you did neither of you ever told me."  
  
"We didn't. And even if we had he had better not have said a word to  
anyone." Glitch replied hotly.  
  
Ring's frown at Glitch's tone could be heard in her voice. "I hope you don't  
take my asking this the wrong way," She said cautiously, "But why are you  
still so touchy about Slice?"  
  
Glitch sighed, the air hissing across the speaker. "I know I still am and I  
know I shouldn't be. Its just…" She huffed loudly and ran her fingers  
through her hair.   
  
"I mean, it's been a year, Glitchie." Her friend said soothingly. "And its  
still an open wound after all this time?"  
  
"But we dated for nearly two years, Ring." Glitch replied. "We were talking  
marriage, girl. Marriage!"  
  
"Shit! You never told me that!"  
  
"That's because our relationship disintegrated not two weeks after that."  
  
"I remember that." Ring said softly, in an almost nostalgic voice. "One  
moment you two were the happy couple, all hugs and kisses and chocolate and  
rosewater and then…well…" She trailed off and was silent for a moment. "I  
never asked. What happened?"  
  
Glitch sighed heavily. "He started to push the issue of marriage and I…well  
I suppose it was my fault. I just wasn't ready for that kind of commitment.  
I mean marriage is supposed to be like…for always."  
  
Ring made a derisive sound. "That doesn't make it your fault."  
  
"Maybe." Glitch said but she didn't sound like she believed it.  
  
"Look, quit beating yourself up about it." Ring said encouragingly. "So you  
and Slice weren't meant to be. That doesn't mean you should give up on love  
completely."  
  
Glitch couldn't help but smile. "I haven't given up." She said. "After all.  
If I had, I wouldn't be dating someone else."  
  
She could hear Ring's smile blooming. "Good. So you'll tell me when you and  
mystery man get it on right?" She asked hopefully.  
  
"Ring sometimes I wonder if you sin vicariously through the rest of us."  
Glitch mused, her voice dancing with laughter.  
  
"Is that a yes?" Ring asked flatly.  
  
"Yeah you'll be the first to know." She replied.  
  
"Great." Ring said. "Look chick I gotta run. Some crime lord down town wants  
a password to some Colombian law enforcement database. Probably more of a  
drug lord than a crime lord."  
  
"Splinter find it?" Glitch asked.  
  
"Yeah but he wanted me to deliver. The crime lord owns an S and M club,  
which is the drop off point. I'd probably fit into the black leather scene  
the best of all of us."  
  
"But of course. We can't go sending your sister into a rave pit after all."  
Glitch said.   
  
"At least not yet anyway." Ring replied.  
  
"Be careful alright?"  
  
Ring's smirk could be heard in the cockiness of her voice. "Am I ever  
anything but?" She asked feinting innocence.  
  
Glitch laughed. "No but be careful all the same."  
  
"Will do." Ring replied honestly. "Later, Glitchie."  
  
"Later."  
  
The phone hadn't been hung up ten minutes before it rang again.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Good afternoon, Ms. Carter." Smith's stiff voice came through the receiver.  
  
"Hello Agent Smith." She replied. "How are you?"  
  
"I am well." Smith replied simply.  
  
Glitch could only wonder if that was a programmed response. "What are you up  
to?"  
  
"I cannot tell you." Smith answered.  
  
"Ah. Of course. It's classified I'm sure." She said pinning the phone to her  
ear with her shoulder as she refilled her coffee cup. There was a long  
silence as Glitch added the cream and sugar.  
  
"What is the purpose of this conversation?" Smith asked in a mechanical but  
impatient tone.  
  
"I don't know. You called me." Glitch replied mildly as she stirred her  
coffee.  
  
"I called because you told me to." He returned rather sharply.  
  
"I told you to call because you said you wanted to do something again." She  
countered.  
  
"Well what would you like to do?" Smith asked blankly.  
  
"Well I picked last time." She said. "Why don't you decide."  
  
"I do not know how to go about selecting an activity for us." He answered, a  
note of discomfort in his voice. "Since you are showing me how human  
intimacy comes about perhaps it would be best if you decided."  
  
Glitch nodded to herself thoughtfully. After a moment of deliberation her  
eyes fell on her recently acquired DVD player and the small stack of DVDs  
that lay nearby. An idea sparked in her mind. It was devious and nasty and  
was the worst thing any girl could do to a guy, but it just might help Smith  
understand what she was trying to show him. "I know what we could do." She  
said, a crafty smile spreading across her face.  
  
"What is that, Ms. Carter?" Smith asked, a slight interest coloring his  
normally neutral voice.  
  
"You wanna come over and watch a movie?" she asked, before she took a sip of  
her coffee. "I'll make us popcorn."  
  
"Is this something humans do on dates?" Smith asked cautiously.  
  
Glitch sighed out of amusement. "Yes Agent Smith, it is."  
  
"What movie will we be watching?"  
  
"Well," she said thoughtfully, "I was thinking that since you wanted to  
learn more about human intimacy watching it would be a good way to learn."  
  
Silence on the other end of the line.  
  
"We are watching a romance." She said flatly. _Gods_, she thought, _He may  
be a machine, but he is also male which means hints do nothing but bounce  
off of his steel plated skull._  
  
"Very well," Smith replied, sounding pleased. "What time shall I arrive?"  
  
"Is six good for you?" She asked.  
  
That will be fine." Smith answered.  
  
"Sweet. See you then."  
  
"Goodbye, Ms. Carter"  
  
"Goodbye, Agent Smith."  
  
******


	9. Breathe Through The Kiss

A/N: YAY! At last! High school is over and graduation is coming up fast!  
One of my resolutions for the summer is to get all of this fic typed and  
posted. Shouldn't be too hard. Cookies again to Rei for posting this for me!  
You're the bestest ever!  
  
Sapphira- I'm sorry if I'm losing you. I'll try to clear things up in the  
next chapter or two. This chapter explains some of the points I'm trying to  
make with this fic. Thanks so much for being honest! I hope you enjoy this!  
  
Lady-Dragonknight- Wow! I'm on your favorites list? Thanks ever so much!  
  
Please please keep reviewing! With the few reviews I have I've been getting  
some great feed back and comments. Keep it up!  
  
Disclaimer: Nope…I don't own anything from the Matrix or Matrix: Reloaded 

(Though might I add that Reloaded was AWESOME and well worth the price of  
admission, though I was a touch disappointed in the trailer for Revolutions…  
Reloaded gave me lots of good ideas about portraying Smith.) Anyway, the  
song lyrics are from the Faith Hill song "Breathe", which is another big  
inspiration for this fic, and I don't own those. I also do not own _Gone with  
the Wind_ or _Ghost_ or any characters from those movies. I do own Glitch  
however. No using her without my permission.  
  
Rating: R for VERY crass language. Glitch curses like a sailor in this one,  
and in this situation I would too.  
  
Well that's all…so without any further delay may I present Chapter 9 of _A  
Glitch in his Breathing_…

  
  
Chapter IX: Breathe Through the Kiss  
  
_Fall into the touch  
The slow and steady rush  
Baby isn't that the way that  
Love is supposed to be  
I can feel you breathe  
Just breathe…_  
******  
  
Agent Smith showed up at 6 p.m. sharp as Glitch had come to expect. He was  
dressed exactly as he had been before, in the same dark brown suit with the  
same starched white shirt. His flesh colored earpiece was perched on the  
curve of his ear and his square rimless glasses hid his blue eyes.  
  
"Have a seat." Glitch invited, gesturing to a small brown couch that sat  
before her 32 inch TV. "I'm just getting the popcorn."  
  
Smith sat down stiffly on the couch as Glitch fetched the Tupperware bowl of  
buttered popcorn from the kitchen. She flopped down unceremoniously beside  
him, visibly jarring him and spilling a few pieces of popcorn. She propped  
her tiny socked feet on the coffee table and placed the popcorn between  
them. After taking a moment to fish the remote out from between the couch  
cushions, she turned on the TV.  
  
As the opening credits began to roll, Smith peeled his sunglasses off his  
face and asked, "What will we be watching?"  
  
"Well I nearly opted for _Gone with the Wind_, but I thought that it was a bit  
too complicated, so I went with the movie _Ghost_." Glitch replied, talking  
around a handful of popcorn she had just finished stuffing in her mouth.  
  
"Why do you think it would be too complicated?" Smith asked, sounding rather  
indignant.  
  
"I meant no offense by it." Glitch said getting up from the couch and  
closing the blinds of the window by the TV to keep the glare off the screen.  
"Its just that the heroine of _Gone With the Wind_ fakes loving so many men  
its hard to tell who she's really in love with. Hell, I've seen the movie  
some ten times and she still confuses me."  
  
"Why does she do this?" Smith asked, with a touch of genuine curiosity.  
  
Glitch plopped down on the couch again, spilling more popcorn and on Smith  
this time. "Money. Status. Revenge." She answered nonchalantly. "There are  
lots of reasons."  
  
"Would you fake loving someone?" Smith asked pinning his cerulean gaze on  
her.  
  
Glitch raised her hand for silence. "Save your endless inquiries for after  
the movie."  
  
Smith turned to face the TV as the opening credits began to roll. He  
complied with her wish for silence until the first kissing scene. He watched  
intently as the man, Sam, took the woman sitting at the pottery wheel into  
his arms as he kissed her. He turned his head to the side slightly, still  
watching the screen and asked, "What is the purpose of this?"  
  
Glitch sighed heavily and hit the pause button freezing the couple's lips  
when they were only inches apart. "Gods, I knew this was coming…"  
  
"What makes you say that?" Smith asked turning his gaze on her.  
  
She ran her hand roughly through her dark hair. "Because I honestly don't  
know how to explain it to you, Smith." She replied frankly.  
  
"Why don't you?" He pressed. "If you do not know how, then can you show me?"  
  
Glitch turned to face him. Her eyes had gone stagnant and blank, like they  
had when Smith had asked about the rose in the restaurant. She licked her  
lips after a moment and spoke, "Because I don¹t know. I never had anyone to  
show me either."  
  
Smith's brow knit with confusion. "You have said so yourself that you have  
had romantic interests with which you have shared some intimacy. Was none of  
this involved?" He gestured to the screen.  
  
Glitch swallowed as though thinking about it put a bitter taste in her  
mouth. "Yes it was."  
  
"Then how can you not understand it?" Smith asked leaning a little closer to  
her.  
  
"The physical element was there, yes." She replied. "But in hindsight I can  
see that all there was was just physicality. The emotional element was  
missing."  
  
"There can be one without the other?" Smith asked, the lines of his brow  
deepening. "The physical without the emotional?"  
  
"Yes." Glitch said, dropping her gaze her cheeks reddening.  
  
"Then if there was emotion why does the memory pain you?" Smith asked moving  
even closer to her.  
  
Glitch's chest felt tight with frustration. "I can't fucking explain it to  
you, Smith!" She half shouted, slamming her hands down on the couch and  
pushing herself to her feet. "You don't understand. You won't understand.  
You can't understand. Hell, I don't even understand."  
  
"Why can't I?" Smith asked, his steely gaze following her as she walked to  
the window. An edge of animosity was in his voice.  
  
"You're a machine, Smith." She said in a tired sounding tone. "A computer.  
Shit, I don't even know if you're even capable of fucking me much less  
understanding why someone would want to. Computers don't have emotions so  
how can I explain to you what one is or teach you how to feel it?"  
  
"You can tell me why your memories pain you." Smith said.  
  
Glitch turned to face him expecting to see a glint of sadism shining in his  
eyes but she was surprised to see that he was looking at her with something  
akin to sympathy in his gaze. She licked her lips carefully. "My memories  
pain me because I am disgusted with myself."  
  
"Because you feel as if you have been cheated by your own indecision and  
naiveté." Smith continued for her.  
  
Glitch was startled. Her mouth gaped open slightly as all the emotions she  
had kept pent up inside her rushed into her face. "How did-" The tears that  
filled her throat cut her off.  
  
Smith smiled then as much as he could manage. It was a true smile even  
though it only just bent the line of his mouth. "I may be a machine but the  
term artificial intelligence means precisely that. Intelligence. I can  
surmise from your words and actions why you think the way you do."  
  
"So go be a psychiatrist." Glitch snapped a little nastier than she meant  
to. "Why do you need me if you can figure all this out for yourself?"  
  
"To be sure my assumptions are true." Smith replied, his smile fading a bit.  
"They are aren't they?"  
  
Glitch nodded. "Yeah I suppose. I've just never been able to put a finger on  
it until now."  
  
"If given the choice would you do it over again?" Smith asked.  
  
Glitch opened the blinds and gazed out the window. "Yeah I think so." She  
answered.  
  
Smith frowned. "I don't understand. Why would you do it again if it caused  
you so much emotional torment the first time?"  
  
Glitch thought for a moment that Smith almost sounded concerned. She folded  
her arms across her stomach as she replied. "I didn't know any better then.  
I guess it all goes back to the human need for intimacy and contact. It  
seems to rise above everything else."  
  
"Unconditionally." Smith said softly. "Why do you not seek out someone to  
share physical intimacy with? If the need is there, then why don't you meet it?"  
  
"I told you already. I know now it makes my life too complicated." She  
answered.  
  
"But depriving yourself of what you need seems to as well." Smith countered.  
"It leaves a hole. I can see it in your eyes."  
  
That took Glitch by surprise. She turned to face him. Could he really read  
her like that? "I just don't want to hurt like that again." She said  
candidly. "That pain is worse than this."  
  
"But if you found a way to relieve all the emotional hurt, would you?" Smith  
asked, his eyes searching hers.  
  
"If I could trust someone that much, yes I would," she answered looking  
directly back at him. "But I can't do that. I won't let myself do that.  
There's no one I trust that much."  
  
"Then how can you show me the purpose behind physical intimacy?"  
  
"You want the truth?"  
  
"Always." came his reply, his face gone back to its unreadable mask.  
  
"I can fake it." She answered flatly but honestly. "I've done it before and  
I can do it again."  
  
Something flashed through Smith's eyes then, perhaps some heated emotion but  
it was gone so fast Glitch didn't have time to discern or speculate about  
what it was. "You would really do that? Even though it makes you feel  
cheap?"  
  
"You don't love me," she countered harshly as she stalked around the couch.  
"You can't love me, so what does it matter."  
  
"You keep saying that." Smith said, his eyes following her. "But you have no  
idea what I am capable of. You think that you're just selling yourself." His  
voice seemed to shake with anger.  
  
"Beats the alternative," She replied just as hotly.  
  
"You keep saying that as well." He said, sounding as though he was fighting  
with all he had to control his temper. "What's the alternative? Being  
alone?"  
  
"Going to jail." She corrected.  
  
Smith stood shaking his head. "Some part of me doubts that." He said as he  
pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket. "But until you can come to terms  
with all your emotional hurts, I must be patient. I can't learn anything from  
you right now aside from cynicism which I can assure you I am an expert at."  
Smith slipped the dark lenses over his eyes. "I don't think that we will get  
anywhere tonight, so if you will beg my pardon I need to go back to my headquarters."  
  
Glitch gave one of her nonchalant shrugs, but the look in her charcoal eyes  
did not match it. "Suit yourself."  
  
"Do you think we might be able to have lunch tomorrow?" Smith asked as he  
smoothed the lapels of his coat.  
  
Glitch nodded. "I don't see why not." She said smiling sadly.  
  
"I'll call you at around eleven then." He said. "Will you show me out?"  
  
Glitch nodded again and went to open the door. As Smith stepped out she  
grabbed him by the elbow. He turned his hard but handsome face towards her.  
She licked her lips quickly before speaking. "I hope I didn't offend you by  
anything I said." Both her face and her voice were equally pleading.  
  
Smith's mouth curled again into his strange smile. "You only said what to  
you was the truth."  
  
Glitch looked up at him for a moment, trying to discern his expression. This  
was as close to Smith as she had ever been. He smelled faintly of cleaning  
solution, not of the metal or plastic Glitch had been expecting. Then for a  
reason completely unknown to her she raised up on her toes and pressed her  
lips to his. His lips were dry and still beneath hers.  
  
She pulled away after only a second and looked apprehensively up into  
his face. At that moment she would have sold her soul to have been able to  
see through those dark glasses. She wanted to know what he was thinking. He  
hadn't kissed her back.  
  
Smith's tongue slid across his lips and then across his teeth like a cat  
moving under bedcovers. He seemed at a loss for words.  
  
"I'm sorry." Glitch whispered, backing away a few inches. "I'm…I'm rushing  
things…I didn't mean to do that."  
  
Smith took a long, slow breath before he spoke. "Good bye, Ms. Carter."  
  
Glitch couldn't bring herself to say goodbye as she closed the door behind  
him. When it was safely locked and barred, she slid slowly down the wall,  
hugging her knees to her chest as she went. Much to her own amazement she  
didn't cry.  
******


	10. Spark

A/N: Greetings and welcome to the tenth installment of A Glitch In His  
Breathing! Many cookies once again to Rei for posting! Please keep the  
reviews coming! Thanks to those of you who have for being honest and not  
sugar coating anything.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Matrix or The Matrix Reloaded and  
I'm not making money off this. I make my money in other ways.  
*Surreptitiously kicks cat-o-nine-tails and leather corset under the table*  
The song lyrics are from Cirque du Soleil and I don't own those either. My  
friend Eien gets credit for the line "aura of melancholy you could cut with  
a knife" I do not own anything pertaining to the movie _Ghost_ either. Glitch  
is mine. No using.  
  
Rating: R for a bit of harsh language. Some sensuality, but this chapter is  
actually pretty clean. However…the following chapters will not be. I  
guarantee it. *evil little smirk*  
  
And now…for the tenth installment of A Glitch In His Breathing!  
  
  
Chapter X: Spark  
  
_Alegria  
I see a spark of life shining  
Alegria  
I hear a young minstrel sing  
Alegria  
Beautiful roaring scream  
Of joy and sorrow so extreme  
There is a love in me raging  
Alegria  
A joyous magical feeling_  
******  
  
There was a small café on a street corner across from the park that was  
often frequented by afternoon shoppers and businessmen on lunch break.  
Several umbrella-d tables were scattered out on the sidewalk. Sitting at  
one of the tables was Glitch and Smith. The Agent stood out against the  
crowd of casually dressed patrons but Glitch dressed in a baby tee and jeans  
blended in perfectly as always.  
  
Smith noted that Glitch had yet to say a word since they had arrived. She  
sat there, munching on her sandwich in a kind of reflective silence. The  
aura of melancholy that seemed to hang around her was thick enough to cut  
with a butter knife. She appeared to be trying to ignore the fact that he  
was there.   
  
Smith decided that they were getting nowhere just sitting in the thought  
laded silence so he spoke, "How did you sleep last night?"  
  
"I didn't." Glitch replied simply before she took a sip of her Sprite. Her  
tone was neither curt nor hateful. She almost sounded bored. She turned her  
eyes up to his face. Her gaze seemed stagnant and watered down with  
exhaustion.  
  
"What did you do all night, then?" Smith asked  
  
Glitch thought for a moment that she heard a note of concern in his voice.  
"I thought." She answered. "And drank coffee."  
  
"Well then, it doesn't go to wonder why you couldn't sleep." Smith said  
a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.  
  
She didn't even look like she was thinking about smiling. "It was decaf."  
She said blandly.  
  
Smith's smile vanished. "What were you thinking about?"  
  
"Last night." She answered picking a piece of tomato she had missed off her  
sandwich.  
  
Smith nodded. "I think it is weighing heavily on both of our minds." He said  
with a small amount of sympathy noting how tired she looked both mentally  
and physically.  
  
Glitch licked a bit of mayonnaise off of her upper lip before she spoke. "I  
think I can answer your question." She said. "About why I don't find someone  
to meet my physical and emotional needs."  
  
Smith frowned slightly. For some reason he almost didn't want to know the  
answer. "I thought you said that it was because it would make your life too  
complicated."  
  
"Well, that's part of it." She replied  
  
"What is the rest?" Smith asked leaning forward with interest. He rested his  
elbow on the table beside his sandwich, which he had hardly touched.  
  
"It's not really that I haven't found someone to meet those needs as it is  
that a person who is willing to meet those needs hasn't found me." Glitch  
answered smiling sadly.  
  
Smith took a moment to process what she had just said but it was obvious by  
his answer that the concept eluded him. "I am willing to meet those needs."  
He said.  
  
Glitch smiled in an almost pitying fashion. "I know you are, but that's not  
what I mean." She said. "The emotions aren't involved. I'm a job to you. An  
assignment."  
  
"I'm sorry you look at it that way." Smith replied in the same tone.  
  
"There isn't any other way you can look at it, is there?" She asked as she  
munched on her chips.  
  
Smith sat up a little straighter. "I know that I cannot know how it feels to  
have an intimate relationship without some help, but I am sure I will be able  
to comprehend it."  
  
"No, no, no! You still don't fucking get it, Smith." She said. "I don't want to  
be touched or held. I want to be loved and you can't love me."  
  
"You can teach me to love you." Smith countered his voice full of  
confidence.  
  
Glitch made a harsh sound in her throat. "I can't teach you how to love  
any more than I can build a rose out of daisy petals."  
  
"My superiors are not so sure that it is impossible." Smith said.  
  
"Are your superiors AI's as well?" She asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, there's your problem right there." She paused to take a bite from her  
sandwich. She chewed a few times before she continued her words muffled now.  
"If they are AI's, they don't get the concept either."  
  
"It was my assignment to gain access to such information." He said rather  
stiffly.  
  
"Well, you won't find it in any computer database." Glitch's expression  
suddenly turned rueful. "Believe me. I know. I've looked."  
  
There was a short silence as Smith watched Glitch stare at her food. He  
wasn't sure what to say to what she had just told him. After a moment of  
reserved thought she crumpled up the paper that had housed her sandwich and  
chips and started to stand up.  
  
"Where would you like to go?" Smith asked following her example and cleaning  
up his eating space.  
  
"Home, actually." She answered over her shoulder as she walked towards the  
nearest trashcan. "I have some cleaning up to do."  
  
"May I accompany you?" Smith asked.  
  
Glitch gave one of her breezy shrugs. "If you like. I wouldn¹t complain to a  
little company."  
  
Smith stood and followed her. They walked in silence back to Glitch's  
apartment. Once inside, Smith took his usual seat on the stool in the  
kitchen looking seemingly content as he watched Glitch bustle about the  
kitchen whistling a bittersweet tune between her teeth. She ran a sink of  
water in which she seemed to be planning to watch her endless array of  
coffee mugs, which were stacked two high and four deep by the sink.  
  
Smith removed his sunglasses and watched her work. Before five minutes had  
passed she was elbow deep in suds. He couldn't suppress an amused smile. He  
couldn't ever remember that happening. A good many things had happened that  
he couldn't explain since he had been around this woman.  
  
Glitch was so different from most women Smith had observed, who seemed to  
flaunt themselves in flashy clothes trying to attract the attention of  
anything male. But not Glitch. She didn't ever seem to make any sort of  
effort to stand out. Glitch never seemed to do anything but blend into her  
surroundings and in Smith's opinion she did a great job. In a crowded room  
her faded jeans and simple shirts would just fade away. And yet…there was  
something about her that made Smith want to stick around. Smith let his eyes  
caress their way over Glitch's body. She really was a beautiful woman and it  
was such a shame that cynicism had made her its victim.  
  
He looked down at his hands where they lay folded on the table. He felt a  
pang of something within him. It seemed to start in his stomach under his  
ribs and spread through his whole chest. It made his insides twist and his  
skin felt suddenly cold though he could tell that the temperature in the  
room had not changed.  
  
Smith looked up at Glitch and noted that she looked a bit like the heroine  
of Ghost. Molly was her name? Yes, Molly. When Glitch would lean over the  
sink to scrub away at a mug in her hands her posture looked like that Molly  
when she had been bent over the pottery wheel. The memory of what transpired  
after that scene suddenly drowned Smith's mind. Sam had taken Molly in his  
arms and kissed her, and his reasons still eluded Smith's wiring. He needed  
to know why and his only avenue to the answer was carrying so much emotional  
baggage that getting an answer from her now would be next to impossible even  
for him.  
  
"Why?" He asked himself silently. "Why did Sam want to kiss Molly?" Smith  
answered his own inquiry and while the answer only raised more questions, it  
was an answer nonetheless. "Because Sam loved Molly."  
  
The Agent pulled his thoughts into focus and regarded Glitch again. His skin  
still crawled with cold and seemed to ache with deprivation of sensory  
input. This was something else he never recalled happening before and the  
longer he sat there and stared at Glitch, the worse it got. Was this alien  
feeling he was experiencing what he had been trying to understand all along?  
More importantly, if it was, what was he supposed to do about it? He had  
only one example to follow.  
  
Smith rose quietly from his seat and crossed the kitchen to where Glitch  
stood at the sink. If she had heard him move she gave no indication of it.  
Smith stood only inches behind her, towering over her in an almost menacing  
fashion. He could have easily rested his chin on the top of her head if he  
had wanted to. His hands worked nervously by his sides as he debated as to  
what he should do next. All he had to work on was his one example.  
  
So Smith trailed his hands down the bare skin on the back of Glitch's arms.  
Glitch straightened suddenly her breath going backwards. She dropped the mug  
she had been washing back into the water.  
  
Smith frowned, nearly taking his hands away. "This is not unpleasant?" Smith  
asked.  
  
Glitch's throat was so tight that it took her three tries before she could  
work out a coherent reply. " No. No, Agent Smith its not."  
  
Smith worked one hand up over her shoulder to brush her hair away from her  
neck and she gave another tiny gasp. "What are you doing?" She whispered.  
  
"Learning." Smith answered, breathing the word on the nape of her neck  
making the fine hairs there stand up. The change in the tone of his voice  
took both of them by surprise. "Since you will not teach me, I will learn for  
myself."  
  
Glitch swooned for a moment as the room grew fuzzy and her eyes glazed over.  
She leaned back against Smith to steady herself. He felt warm. "You learn  
fast." She barely managed.  
  
Smith pulled her back against him wrapping his arms around her waist careful  
to keep them from getting soapy. Glitch felt tight and stiff and her breath  
came in frantic shallow pants. Some of the people he had interrogated hadn't  
been this tense. He leaned his lips a little closer to her ear. "Would you  
like to go for a walk tomorrow afternoon?" He whispered.  
  
"I would love to." Glitch replied rather breathlessly.  
  
"And then dinner afterwards?" He offered. "At the Traditional Rose?"  
  
"Even better." Her voice was a little steadier.  
  
"I'll call you tomorrow then." Smith said kissing her hair. He inhaled as he  
did finding that she smelled of lavender and dishwashing soap. "Good bye, Ms.  
Carter."  
  
"Good bye, Agent Smith." Glitch replied somewhat mechanically. Her world was  
such a blur. She wasn't even sure she heard him leave.  
******


	11. Ordinary Girl in a Simple Dress

A/N: I HAVE GRADUATED!!!! WOO HOO! GO HESTER! GO HESTER!…*ahem*  
sorry…

Greetings and welcome to the eleventh installment of Glitch. If you're  
with me this far you must really be enjoying this. Please let me know by - you  
guessed it: reviewing! Cookies go to Rei for posting! Merci!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Matrix nor am I getting any money  
off of this fic. I also do not own the song lyrics. They were written by Aaron Lines.  
I do own Glitch and Ring, so no using them without my permission.  
  
Rating: R for language, crude humor, sensuality, and suggestive situations.  
Everyone's favorite things. We get a good look at Ring's sick and perverse  
sense of humor. I write her from a place of great knowledge. She's just like  
me, looks and all for the most part but my hair isn't that short or blonde  
but I do wear that much leather at times. Parents, you know what I'm going to  
say. No one who has yet to get to high school needs to be reading this. Take  
a good look at Ring. I don't want your little brats to grow up and be psycho  
and crass like her and neither do you.  
  
*steps off soapbox* moving right along…

  
Chapter XI: Ordinary girl in a Simple Dress

  
  
_She can take a simple dress  
Put it on and turn some heads  
Man, every time she moves she gets me  
She doesn't even know she's sexy  
And the way she thinks sometimes  
Out of nowhere, she blows my mind  
She makes me laugh and makes me dream  
I love the way she looks at things  
A little piece of Heaven God gave to this world  
She might think she's just an ordinary girl_

  
******  
  
Glitch called up Ring the next morning.  
  
"You need another dress?" her friend asked in a disbelieving voice. "Damn,  
this guy must be a serious knight in shining armor."  
  
Glitch laughed. "No, not really."  
  
"Hmm…another dress." Ring said in a thoughtful voice. "You wore black last  
time, so we can't go that route again."  
  
"Regretfully." Glitch muttered.  
  
Ring laughed suddenly, a low sultry and conniving sound.  
  
"What?" Glitch asked warily. She could hear garments being shuffled in a  
closet through the receiver.  
  
"You trust me to pick one for you?" Ring asked trying her hardest to sound  
innocent.  
  
She sighed. "Yeah, I suppose."  
  
Glitch could hear Ring's grin in her voice. "Sweet. I know just the dress  
and I have shoes to match. When do you need it?"  
  
"Can you have it here in an hour?"  
  
"I thought you said you were going out to dinner?"  
  
"We are, but we're going for a walk in the park first." Glitch replied.  
  
"Aw. How sweet." Ring kidded.  
  
"Oh give it a rest."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I'll have the dress over in a bit."  
  
"Great, thanks."  
  
"Not a problem." Ring returned. "Later, Glitchie."  
  
"Later."  
  
Ring showed up at Glitch's apartment twenty minutes later. Her thin frame  
seemed to be shrink-wrapped in a black leather body suit despite the hot  
late spring weather. Her signature silver sunglasses were perched atop the  
silver blonde spikes of her hair and a cream-colored garment bag was slung  
over her shoulder. Glitch led her back into her bedroom where she sprawled  
out on the bed like an oversized house cat. She watched intently as Glitch  
unzipped the bag and pulled the dress out.  
  
The dress turned out to be no where near as conservative as the last one. It  
was all the things that Ring loved in her clothes. It was short, tight and  
the color was what Glitch would describe as kiss-ass-red. The shoes she had  
mentioned were gold and had five-inch stiletto heels. She didn't complain  
once she put the outfit on, however. It made her look stunning.  
  
"So?" Ring said, her steel blue gaze following Glitch as she crossed the  
room to regard her reflection in the full-length mirror.  
  
"I love it!" Glitch exclaimed.  
  
Ring nodded approvingly. "I thought you would, even if it is a bit extreme.  
That color red looks good on you. Makes your eyes show up even without  
makeup."  
  
Glitch had to agree. The bright scarlet material made her pale skin look  
almost translucent and her charcoal eyes look almost black. It was amazing.  
  
"The shoes will take some getting used to." Glitch commented looking down at  
her feet and taking a few clumsy steps.  
  
"You have to swing your hips when you walk." Ring advised. "And keep your  
weight off your heels so you don't twist your ankle."  
  
"Do you think he'll like it?" She asked turning to face the bed.  
  
Ring gave a short laugh. "If he has a drop of testosterone in his body  
getting him in bed will be the easiest thing since your mother."  
  
Glitch couldn't help but laugh despite the fact that this did raise the  
question as to whether or not Smith was wired well enough to be capable of  
any kind of sexual activity. "Colorful." She said, turning back to the  
mirror.  
  
Ring flashed her most charming smile. "Aren't I always?"  
  
Glitch merely smiled and shook her head.  
  
"Well look, Glitchie, I gotta split." Ring said rising from the bed. Her  
leather body suit gave a great creak as she did. "Splinter wants me down at  
the Mainframe. We are all going clubbing as a cover after we bug a  
department store website."  
  
"Sounds like a party." Glitch replied as she showed Ring to the door. "I  
hate I can't make it."  
  
"So do we. We could use your subtlety to get the job done."  
  
Glitch smiled appreciatively.  
  
"Have a good time tonight."  
  
"Oh, I will." Glitch replied. "You too."  
  
"Always. Later, Glitchie."  
  
"Later, Ring." Glitch said, closing the door behind her friend.  
  
Smith arrived an hour later wearing his now seemingly trademark suit and  
sunglasses. When the door first opened, he almost looked smug, but when his  
gaze lit on Glitch in Ring's sultry red dress, his mouth slowly gaped open.  
He removed his glasses as his electric blue gaze drank the sight of her.  
  
Glitch leaned against the doorframe, fighting not to blush and trying to look  
casual. She managed to smirk at him as she said, "I take it you like the  
dress."  
  
Smith closed his mouth and licked his lips. "I do." He sounded utterly  
stunned.  
  
"I'm glad." Glitch said. "Shall we go for our walk?"  
  
"If you would like." Agent Smith said as he regained his composure.  
  
"I certainly would." Glitch replied. "I haven't been outside all day."  
  
The sun was just beginning to set when the couple reached the park. They  
walked around the pond neither saying much until Glitch reached over and  
took Smith's hand. She wasn't sure why she did it. It just felt right. His  
skin was cool to the touch but not cold like she was expecting.  
  
Smith looked down at her and she up at him. The light of the dying sun  
tinted Glitch's pale skin, made paler by the crimson dress, gold and gave a  
light to her eyes that had never been there before.  
Or was that really the sun or just the way she was looking at him?  
  
Smith peeled his eyes away from her and gave a low chuckle as he entwined  
his fingers with hers.  
  
"You'd better not be laughing at me." Glitch warned playfully.  
  
"I'm not laughing at just you. I'm laughing at myself as well. You and I  
together." He replied.  
  
"Why?" She asked cocking her head curiously.  
  
"Because it is so ironic that we are walking around this pond holding hands  
and not but a few days ago you used a couple who were doing much the same  
thing as an example to me."  
  
Glitch shrugged casually. "Well, it's like you said. You're a fast learner."  
  
"I didn't expect to learn this quickly." Smith replied, "And I believe it  
was you who said that, not I."  
  
Glitch laughed. "So I take it you're beginning to understand?"  
  
Smith nodded.  
  
"What's it like?"  
  
"What is what like?" Smith asked looking down at her.  
  
"Being in love. I mean, it must be different for you, and I figured since you  
are so painfully analytical that you might be able to actually put it into  
words."  
  
The corner of Smith's mouth curled. "You overestimate my capabilities." He  
said. "Besides, I only know the theory really, or at least I think I do. I  
have yet to apply it."  
  
"Well, could you try at least?" Glitch prodded. "I'd like to at least know  
what you're thinking."  
  
"That is such a general statement." Smith said.  
  
"Fine then. Why did you touch me the way you did yesterday?"  
  
Smith smiled and unless Glitch's eyes were fooled by the glare of the sun he  
looked a touch bashful. "I did because I had no other choice. My feelings  
gave me no other."  
  
Glitch looked mildly shocked. "Go on." She urged.  
  
"My skin felt strange to me." Smith continued clearly groping for every  
word. "It only seemed to get worse the longer I sat there and did nothing,  
and-" He paused his voice seeming to be suddenly lost. "And I still feel  
that way now."  
  
Glitch smiled to herself as she leaned her head against Smith's shoulder.  
She rubbed his knuckles with her thumb. "Love is amazing stuff, isn't it?"  
She asked, looking up at him.  
  
"Yes." He breathed the word falling from his lips softly like a single  
snowflake. "Yes, it is." There was a long thoughtful silence before Smith  
checked his wristwatch. "Our reservations are in twenty minutes. Shall we go  
to the restaurant?"  
  
Glitch nodded. "Sounds great! I'm starving."  
  
Dinner at the Traditional Rose the second time around was quite different  
from the first. This time the couple sat in a booth scooted as close  
together as they could get and still be able to eat. They talked and laughed  
as they enjoyed their meal. Smith seemed nothing like his former self. His  
crystalline blue eyes glittered with newfound life every time his lips  
cracked a smile. Glitch too appeared to have changed, and she seemed very at  
ease with her transformation. She wore Ring's red dress as though it were  
made for no one but her. She stalked in her stiletto heels as though she had  
worn them all of her life. All in all both of them seemed to discover a part  
of themselves that had been long buried and forgotten or, perhaps in Smith's  
case, never discovered at all.  
  
At the end of dinner, Smith escorted Glitch home but on the way they stopped  
at Glitch's favorite coffee stand for a quick cappuccino. Then for at least  
an hour, the couple walked arm in arm around the block of Glitch's apartment  
doing little more than luxuriating in one another's company and enjoy their  
java.   
  
When the coffee was long gone Smith walked Glitch up to her apartment. She  
unlocked and opened the door and then turned to face him in the doorway. "I  
had a wonderful time, Agent Smith." She said smiling up at him.  
  
"As did I, Simone." He replied returning her smile.  
  
She seemed to frown and grin at the same time. " Since when are we on a  
first name basis?"  
  
"Since tonight." He answered smugly.  
  
She gave him a wry smile. "So, do you want a kiss good night?"  
  
"I would not complain to that." He answered, his mouth still curved in a  
smile.  
  
Glitch leaned against the doorframe still looking up at him. "Well, you're  
going to have to come and get it. I'm not handing everything to you on a  
silver platter."  
  
Smith hesitated, suddenly feeling very awkward. He eased forward and snaked  
one arm around Glitch's tiny waist and pulled her against him. As he began  
to lower his lips to hers she raised up on her tiptoes and met him halfway.  
Glitch slid her hands up his chest trying to feel his build through his  
suit. Smith kissed her in a manner that could only be described as tentative  
but that didn't last long. He pressed her back against the doorframe pinning  
her against him. She didn't resist.  
  
Glitch opened her mouth, enticing Smith to kiss her deeper as she toyed with  
the hair on the nape of his neck. He shuddered but still seemed at a loss  
for what to do. Glitch then slid her tongue across his bottom lip hoping to  
give him more of a hint. A low growl spilled from Smith's mouth into  
Glitch's along with his tongue. She gave a small sound of pleasure high in  
her throat as she molded every curve of her body against him as his tongue  
explored her mouth. Her skin felt cold save where it didn't touch him.  
  
Smith pulled away almost breathless and looked down at Glitch. His  
unnaturally blue eyes smoldered like fiery gems in his face. "What are you  
doing to me?" He whispered.  
  
"Exactly what you are doing to me." She breathed against his neck.  
  
"It's getting late, Simone. Perhaps I should go." Smith said as he  
reluctantly pulled away. "I will call you tomorrow." Suddenly he didn't  
trust his self-control, but he couldn't understand why. He started to turn  
away but Glitch's tiny hand flashed out and grabbed him by the elbow. He  
turned to her slowly. He looked almost afraid, scared of what he might do if  
he stayed.  
  
Glitch bit her lip nervously as her pulse rose in her throat. "Would you  
like to come in?"  
  
"You should be going to bed soon." Smith said, clearly uneasy with how he  
was feeling.  
  
Glitch swallowed. "I know. That's my point." She said shakily. "I guess  
that's what I'm really asking. I'm going to bed and…and I want you to come  
with me."  
  
Smith's brow knit with confusion and a second later relaxed with  
understanding. He licked his lips apprehensively before he kissed her again  
more passionately as he pressed his way back into her apartment, taking  
Glitch with him.  
  
She took that as a "yes."  
******


	12. Doorway

A/N: Well, well, whaddya know…Chapter 12…My favorite chapter, I might add, and I  
think you know why. Sorry it took so long. Had to be careful about when I  
typed this. And this was such a cliffhanger too…hee. First off I'd like to  
say that this is the first sex scene I have ever written, so please be nice  
when you review. I don't have any actual experience (yet), so I'm just kinda going  
with what little I know from books and movies as well as with my gut  
feeling. I tried to be tasteful and not too explicit so my friend Kristen  
could stand to read it. I heart you Kreesten! Cookies go to Rei for posting  
as always!   
  
Thanks to She-bear and Bagheera for their kind and above all else HONEST  
reviews! May you be showered with cookies! Please continue to review!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Matrix and I'm not getting money  
by writing this. The song lyrics are from Faith Hill. Glitch is mine, so no  
using her without my permission. Exodus…this means you.  
  
Rating: Alright folks. This is it. The "cookie chapter", as I like to call it.  
There should be NO children reading this chapter. Period. End of story. I'm  
not going to give an age limit since it's not my job to enforce it. Parents,  
you should know your kids. If they wind up asking you some weird questions  
over breakfast, don't come flaming up at me. I have every right to post this  
and they have every right to read it, but it's your job to make sure that  
they don't if you don't want them to.  
  
I know you people get sick of hearing that, but if you're old enough to read  
this you can skip them. They are really just for fair warning  
content-wise. 

Alright then…on with the show!  
  
Chapter XII: Doorway  
  
_Some people stay far away from the door  
If there's a chance of it opening up  
They hear a voice in the hall outside  
And hope that it just passes by  
  
Some people live with the fear of a touch  
And the anger of having been a fool  
They will not listen to anyone  
So nobody tells them a lie  
  
I know you're only protecting yourself  
I know you're thinking of somebody else  
Someone who hurt you  
But I'm not above  
Making up for the love  
You've been denying you could ever feel  
I'm not above doing anything  
To restore your faith if I can  
Some people see through the eyes of the old  
Before they ever get a look at the young  
I'm only willing to hear you cry  
Because I am an innocent man  
I am an innocent man  
Oh yes I am_  
******  
  
Smith held Glitch firmly by the shoulders as he pressed her towards her  
bedroom. They missed the door by about a foot and crashed into the wall, but  
neither person seemed to care as their lips were still locked together.  
Glitch's hands had busied themselves with Smith's suit and she had managed  
to rid him of his coat and tie, and she was now working on his shirt, which  
was proving difficult, since she couldn't see what she was doing.  
  
Glitch suddenly toppled backward finding herself sprawled on the bed. She  
looked up at Smith who now seemed to loom over her, his outline barely  
visible in the dim light. His crisp shirt gaped open where it had been  
unbuttoned, revealing a tantalizing swath of his smooth chest.  
  
Glitch slipped her fingers into the waistband of his pants and used it to  
help herself stand. She suddenly didn't trust her knees to hold her up. Smith's  
arms slid around her waist as he kissed her again. His right hand slithered  
up her back and found the zipper of the dress. She shivered as it dropped  
to the floor.   
  
A tiny gasp escaped Glitch's throat and she pulled herself closer to Smith.  
She was dressed now only in her underwear and she thanked whatever gods  
there were that they were matching black lace. She whispered a silent thank  
you to Ring for the suggestion. Smith's hand teased along her bra strap,  
twisting and untwisting it in his fingers. He slid his hand to the clasp  
and unsnapped it.  
  
Fear rushed through Glitch like fine champagne as the lingerie fell away  
from her small breasts. She pulled body even closer to Smith, trying to hide  
herself against him. Smith looked confused as he turned her face up to his.  
He could see the self-consciousness in her eyes.  
  
"You are afraid of something." He said in his most unreadable voice.  
  
She nodded, her mouth too dry to speak.  
  
"Why?" Smith asked, sliding a hand through her dark hair. "What is it?"  
  
Glitch licked her lips, trying in vain to wet them. "I am afraid of  
disappointing you." She whispered.  
  
Smith smiled then. It was a real smile, showing all his ivory white teeth. He  
leaned down and kissed her again, feather-light and breathed into her ear.  
"You won't."   
  
Glitch pulled back and looked up at him. "This isn't fair." She said  
suddenly.  
  
Smith's serene expression was replaced once again with confusion. "What?"  
  
Glitch fiddled absently with the stiff collar of his shirt as she spoke.  
"You have way too much clothing on."  
  
Smith's confusion melted into a lustful smile. He carefully pulled the  
earpiece from the crest of his ear as he spoke. "That, Simone, can easily be  
remedied."  
  
Glitch's hands were trembling so much that Smith had to steady her fingers as she  
unbuttoned his shirt. She was stuck totally dumb with awe by his build as  
she pushed the shirt off his shoulders. His suit masked a frame that was all  
muscle and whip cord and she couldn't help but run her hands over the  
marble-white expanse of his chest.  
  
Smith let out a shuddering sigh as he luxuriated in her attentions. His  
hands went to the belt of his pants and after only a second of work it was  
pulled free and cast to the floor. His pants followed falling to lie in the  
heap of discarded clothing beside them.  
  
Glitch smirked up at him. "Silk boxers?" she asked, sliding her hands down  
his buttocks.  
  
It was hard to tell in the darkness, but she thought she saw Smith blush.  
  
Glitch buried her face in the hollow of his neck and spoke in a muffled voice.  
"Somebody had fun putting you together."  
  
Smith gave a coarse laugh. She _had_ to remind him that he was only a machine.  
He slid his hands down her body feeling ever curve he could reach. She gave  
a soft moaning sound against his skin in reply. He gave her a soft push,  
topping her backwards onto the bed. She caught herself and laid down  
obligingly, watching him crawl on top of her with eager eyes. All of Glitch's  
fears and misgivings had now been thrown to the wind.  
  
She pushed her body pillow off the edge of the bed and slid across the  
sheets so that Smith could lay on top of her and not hang off. Her hands  
gripped his waist as he drove a knee down between her legs. Meanwhile his  
hands had been roving all over her body touching her breasts, her neck, and  
anything else he could reach that made her moan. He rested the bulge that  
had grown in his boxers between her legs as he lavished his attentions on  
her. It was almost as if he were teasing her.  
  
Glitch used her elbows to press herself up and meld her mouth to his.  
Smith's tongue attacked her mouth, reaching down to fence with hers. As he  
pulled away Glitch drug her teeth across his bottom lip and he gave a  
primitive growl.  
  
Smith looked down at her and she up at him. The expression on Glitch's face  
had totally changed. She no longer looked afraid or even apprehensive. She  
looked accepting, like she knew that she might regret this but she would  
worry about it later. Right now she was going to enjoy the hell out of  
herself. He smiled warmly and kissed her again gently this time. It might  
have been chaste had they not both been nearly nude.  
  
Nearly. Yes, that needed fixing in Glitch's mind. Her slender fingers played  
along the waistband of his boxers. Smith smirked down at her, obviously  
knowing exactly what she wanted. With a quick kiss, he rid himself of them.  
Glitch was quite pleased with herself. He could take a hint after all.  
  
Smith reciprocated, hooking his finger in the side of her panties. She kissed  
him as her hands went to remove them but he caught her wrists. She pulled  
away, a little surprised. Smith's eyes no longer smoldered but blazed with  
an uncivilized fire. If Glitch hadn't felt what she saw in his eyes, she  
might have been afraid. Smith took both of her wrists in one long fingered hand  
and raised them over her head as he jerked her panties off. She raised her  
hips up slightly to make it easier and she found herself grinding into him.  
His grip on her wrists tightened as he growled with pleasure. Glitch spread  
her legs wider as Smith took her hands in his and kissed her again. This  
kiss was neither soft nor gentle. It was as though Smith were trying to  
devour her from the mouth down.  
  
Smith pulled away from the kiss as he slid into her. Glitch made a helpless  
sounding noise in her throat as she cinched her eyes shut.  
  
"No, Simone." Smith whispered raggedly. "Open your eyes. I want to see your  
eyes."  
  
Glitch pried her eyes open and found herself drowning in the intimacy of the  
moment as Smith began to move inside her. He kept no rhythm, like he was  
trying to absorb every sensation he could and not hurt her in the process.  
It was like he thought she would shatter beneath him.  
  
Glitch pressed up against him and whispered hoarsely in his ear, "I'm not  
made of glass you know."  
  
Smith paused and turned his face towards her ear. "I could hurt you."  
  
"You won't. Don¹t worry about me. I trust you."  
  
A shiver ran through Smith's body and he began to thrum inside of her. Her  
breath came in shallow pants as their rhythms synchronized. As his pace  
increased Glitch could feel muscles she didn't even know she had clenching  
around him. Her peak began rising in the pit of her stomach. She buried her  
face in the hollow of his neck as his name spilled out of her mouth.  
  
"Smith…Oh God..." She half shouted as her nails dug into the back of his  
hands and her back arched off the bed.  
  
"I'm here, Simone." He breathed down on her.  
  
And with that, Glitch fell over ecstasy's edge. White stars danced before her  
vision as a scream tore itself from her lips. She relaxed back against the  
bed, her skin flushed and shining with sweat.  
  
Smith peaked only a second later, slamming into her one last time. With a  
last exhausted sigh that whispered her name, he collapsed on top of her. She  
caught his lips with hers as he fell. Her own name had never sounded so  
good.  
******  
Whew! What a ride! This will be the last update for a few weeks. I'm taking a well-deserved   
vacation! Laterz, all!  



	13. Early Morning's Holy Dark

A/N: Well, I'm back from vacation in Wyoming. Yellowstone was beautiful but  
I'm glad to be home and also glad for the reviews left by you guys! Special  
thanks to Little She-bear, Diamonds-r-forever, Dreamofagents, and Scourge of  
Middle Earth (I will swing by and read your fics when I get the chance.  
Thanks for putting me on your fav list!). Thanks ever so much and keep it  
up. Also cookies go to Rei Kasen for posting this! Sorry about the commas!  
There are two more chapters after this and an epilogue just so you can  
expect how long it will be. The mood of the fic will change a bit from here  
as well, but not drastically. And just so you know…I have actually finished  
it so I know how it's going to end! HA!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Matrix that you recognize. The song  
lyrics are from _Shrek_ and were sung by Rufus Wainwright. Glitch is most  
definitely mine and no using her without my permission.  
  
Rating: (Dreamofagents-I'm glad these amuse you) Its R for adult content,  
angst, and a smidge of language. This chappie is mostly pillow talk the next  
morning. No kiddies, as per usual, though if they have read it this far…ok, _so_  
not going there. I'll preach for an hour…  
  
So now I give you what (I hope) you have all been waiting for…Glitch  
Chapter 13!  
  
Chapter XIII: Early Morning's Holy Dark  
  
_There was a time when you let me know  
What was real and going on below  
But now you never show it to me, do you?  
Remember when I moved in you  
The holy dark was moving too  
And every breath we drew was hallelujah  
Maybe there's a god above  
And all I ever learned from love  
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you  
It's not a cry you hear at night  
It's not somebody who's seen the light  
It¹s a cold and it's a broken hallelujah  
Hallelujah…_  
******  
  
Smith did not fall asleep that night. He didn't need to sleep, so why bother  
when there was so much he could do? He could lie there toying with the hair  
around Glitch's face and smoothing his hand down her cheek and all the while  
musing about what had passed between them.  
  
In her sleep Glitch had snaked an arm around Smith, pulling herself securely  
to him. One leg was draped over him much as it had been over the body pillow  
that now lay on the floor with their clothes. A smile curled her mouth as  
she slept. Smith knew that humans could conjure up images in their sleep and  
he couldn't help but wonder what she was seeing that was making her smile.  
Was it him?  
  
The hours slipped unheeded into the night until the sun peeked through the  
blinds falling in golden ribbons on Glitch's face. Her eyes fluttered open  
and lit on Smith's face. She smiled showing a hint of her pearly teeth.  
  
"Good morning." She whispered snuggling against him.  
  
"Good morning." He returned, his voice hoarse from lack of use over the past  
few hours.  
  
"How long have you been awake?" She asked, working the words in around a  
yawn.  
  
"All night." Came the reply.  
  
She frowned up at him despite the smile still curling her mouth. "What have  
you been doing?"  
  
"Watching you sleep." He answered, smoothing her hair.  
  
She laughed softly and kissed him on the cheek. "So, did you learn anything  
last night."  
  
Smith gave the barest of smiles. "I did." He replied. "But…"  
  
"What?" She asked, snuggling a little closer.  
  
"I learned more from watching you sleep that I did by having sex with you."  
  
"Really?" Glitch said, arching an eyebrow. "What, pray tell, was your great  
revelation?"  
  
"I know why you hug your pillow in your sleep." He answered, sliding his arm  
further around her. "But…but I just…I can't put it into words."  
  
"See?" She said, kissing his neck playfully. "I told you."  
  
Smith laughed dryly and kissed her forehead. "I was so sure I would be able  
to put it into words and be able to describe it for my fellows, but…I can't."  
Smith's eyes glazed in thought and his expression looked both amused and  
frustrated. "I mean, I understand it, or at least I think I understand it…but  
I just can't say what I understand."  
  
Glitch trailed a hand down his chest and smiled tenderly up at him. "You  
don't have to try to describe it to me at least. I understand too."  
  
Smith leaned down and gave her a feather-light kiss on her lips. "Why did  
you give in to me, Simone?" Smith whispered against her cheek. "What made you  
take it this far?"  
  
Glitch pulled her body against his as she whispered her reply into the  
hollow of his neck. "I was lonely, Smith. You were right all along and I was  
too stupid to realize it or admit it."  
  
Smith suddenly found himself smiling and he wasn't sure why. He pulled  
Glitch closer to him as he smoothed his fingers through her hair. She pulled  
back and looked at him, her eyes full of a sudden sadness. "When will you  
erase my memory?" She asked in a rather monotone voice.  
  
Smith blinked once in a rather bewildered manner at the abrupt change in her  
mood. "It…it will be tomorrow." He answered.  
  
Glitch relaxed against the bed and sighed. "So it will all be over soon."  
She breathed. "Tomorrow will be the end of us."  
  
Smith licked his lips carefully. "It may not have to be that way, Simone."  
He said. "I might be able to make other arrangements."  
  
Glitch considered it a moment. "But you'll still have to leave me though,  
won't you?"  
  
Smith nodded reluctantly, refusing to meet her gaze.  
  
She shook her head, throwing strands of her hair into her face. "No. I…I  
don't think I could stand it."  
  
"But you could still remember if I had them leave your memory intact."  
Smith told her, smoothing her hair out of her eyes. "You could always look  
back."  
  
"No, Smith." She said a little more firmly. "I won't be able to stand  
remembering us…remembering what I can't have. Ignorance will be bliss in  
this case."  
  
Smith stroked the side of her face as his face twisted with confusion. "You  
would just rather not remember?" He asked, sounding as though he were unable  
to accept that.  
  
She nodded, dragging her eyes away from his face.  
  
"Because it would make your life too complicated?"  
  
Much to Smith's surprise, she shook her head. "Not anymore." She replied. "I  
don't want to remember because remembering what you don't have anymore  
hurts."  
  
"I don't understand." Smith said flatly but not unkindly.  
  
"If I remember you and I…I'll know what I don't have anymore. Going back to  
hugging that pillow after having you hold me last night…it's like going back  
to instant coffee after having Starbucks. It's just not the same." She still  
refused to look up at him.  
  
Smith nodded dolefully. "Very well." He said, almost as if agreeing to erase  
himself from her mind pained him somehow. "If that is what you want, then I will  
see it done." He kissed her chastely on the lips.  
  
"Will you remember me?" Glitch asked when he pulled away.  
  
"Every moment." Smith breathed, laying his face in her hair.  
  
"They won't erase your memories?"  
  
He shook his head, rubbing his nose in through her tresses. He inhaled as he  
ran a hand through her hair, soaking in the scent of her. Glitch took his  
hand and kissed his palm, seeing the half-moon indentations that had come from  
her nails. She smiled at him sweetly as he toyed with the hair at the nape  
of her neck.  
  
"I have a question." She said thoughtfully.  
  
"What is that?" Smith asked.  
  
"How much of a person's memory can you erase?"  
  
Smith's face turned pensive for a moment as he gave his answer. "Well, there  
was one instance when we erased a man's memory entirely. We made him someone  
totally new and transplanted him to a new location. He was given the  
resources to find a new job and a new home and he started over again."  
  
Glitch's eyes kindled with excitement. "Could you do that for me?"  
  
Smith blinked several times out of pure shock. "Well…yes…but…but why? Why  
would you want that?"  
  
Glitch shrugged nonchalantly. "Because I hate my life." She said as she made  
to roll out of bed. Smith tightened his grip on her keeping her from moving  
away. She struggled against him but he kept a firm hold on her. "I don't  
want to stay here anymore, Smith. I don't want to be alone."  
  
"But you won't remember me." Smith said soothingly.  
  
She shook her head. "Its more than that. I hate being lonely all the time. I  
hate this apartment with its tiny rooms and cold bed. I hate drinking cup  
after cup of coffee hoping that will make me feel better. I hate sitting at  
that damn computer looking for something I will never find there. I hate it.  
I don't want to stay here." She bowed her head as a tear slipped down her  
cheek.  
  
Smith stared back at her blankly for a moment as though he couldn't  
comprehend her words.  
  
Glitch pressed her face against his neck. "I know you don't understand,  
Smith…" She said, her voice thick with tears. "But it's hopeless for me to  
stay here. Here I'm nothing but a bunch of ones and zeros that spell  
'Glitch.' I want the chance to be worth more than a computer chip. I know I  
can…I just never had the chance."  
  
Smith licked his lips and nodded. "Very well, Simone. I will speak to my  
superiors about it." He sounded almost sad.  
  
"I know you don't understand it and you like it even less. I can tell. " She  
touched his face tenderly. "Just trust me. I know what I want."  
  
Smith pulled her closer to him, until he could feel her every breath and  
every heartbeat. He pressed his face into her hair, suddenly feeling as  
though he wanted some way to immortalize the moment. He swallowed hard as  
words he hardly understood formed in his mind. "I love you." He whispered  
tenderly.  
  
He could almost hear Glitch smile. "I love you too." She pulled back and  
looked at him. "You will remember me always?"  
  
"Always." He breathed.  
  
"You said tomorrow will be it?"  
  
Smith nodded his face almost mournful but much to his surprise Glitch's face  
split in a sweet grin. "Well, come on then!" She said excitedly as she heaved  
herself out of bed. "The day's a-wasting and it's our last! Let's enjoy it  
while we can! I bet Traditional Rose has room for another reservation."  
  
Smith could only smile at her enthusiasm and anticipation as he climbed out  
of bed after her.  
******  



	14. Destiny With A Tearful Smile

A/N: Wow…not much left of this little ficcie. I'm ever so thankful to all of  
you who have stuck with me this far. Sorry this installment is a bit long in  
coming. I'm a bit tied up in Harry Potter 5 for the time being but that  
won't last much longer. This will be one of the shortest chapters though. My  
apologies for that. Thanks and cookies also go to Rei for posting this and  
putting up with my comma errors.  
  
Note to faithful reviewer Anna: First off you rock for your in-depth  
reviews! Once this gets posted in its entirety I'm probably going to go back  
and start rewriting it. Its sort of a work-in-progress so reviews like yours  
are very helpful. Sorry for the abrupt mood change a few chapters in. I  
decided I wanted to take this in a different direction. Sorry also for using  
a rather overdone plot line but I've yet to find a way that it can be  
helped. If you can come up with a way that I can pull it off I will be more  
than happy to see what I can do with it (and give you credit of course). I  
also wouldn't mind a little help as to how Smith proves to Glitch that he's  
an AI. I have read Tanathir's fic (started reading it a few chapters from  
the end of writing the first draft of this) and I'm a huge fan of it. I have  
to be careful sometimes to keep from copying her style. As for the hacker…  
well, let's just say we run across him again and leave it at that. Any more  
will spoil my twist on the ending. Thanks again for your excellent reviews!  
Please, please, please keep them coming! As for the rest of you lazy bums…you  
should take a lesson from Anna on reviewing practices!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _The Matrix_ or _The Matrix Reloaded_  
though I'm still game if they want to send me one of Smith's replications.  
Sick aren't I? You have no idea. The song is from _Moulin Rouge_ though I  
think it was originally by _Queen_. The saying on Glitch's favorite mug is  
from my friend Lira. Glitch and all characters you don't recognize are mine.  
  
Rating: PG-13 This one isn't too rough…just some angst. Still…no kids since  
they shouldn't have been reading this all along.  
  
Sorry for the long author's note…so without further adieu…the next  
installment of A Glitch in his Breathing!  
  
Chapter XIV: Destiny with a Tearful Smile  
  
_Outside the dawn is breaking on the stage  
That holds our final destiny  
The show must go on  
The show must go on  
Inside my heart is breaking  
My makeup may be flaking  
But my smile still stays on  
The show must go on…_  
******  
  
Smith couldn't stay their final night they were together as his superiors  
had called him away early in the morning. Thus Glitch's sleep was fitful and  
full of half-formed dreams and thoughts. It proved her prediction about  
sleeping alone after sleeping with Smith. She knew the next morning that she  
wouldn't have been able to go a week sleeping like that.  
  
Glitch awoke well before the sun came up. Unable to fall back to sleep, she  
stared at the ceiling for she wasn't sure how long before she rolled out of  
bed and padded over to her closet. She opted for her usual attire of faded  
jeans and a plain tee shirt. She didn't bother with makeup as she had been  
for the past few days. The only preening she did was to run a brush through  
her hair to tame it.  
  
Glitch checked the clock. It was 6:05 am. She couldn't remember the last  
time she had gotten up that early, even while she was in college. Smith had  
said he would be there at eight, which gave her a good two hours before he  
would come. Plenty of time for a cup of coffee. She smiled to herself as she  
poured the water into the coffee maker. If there was one thing she liked  
about her personality it was her coffee addiction, even if it was a coping  
mechanism sometimes. It came in handy when she wanted an excuse to stay up  
late. She hoped Smith would leave that part of her personality intact. She  
figured he would since he found her addiction amusing.  
  
She poured her coffee into her favorite mug, which read, "Not A Morning  
Person Doesn't Even Begin To Describe." It had been a gift from Ring last  
Christmas, which proved she knew Glitch all too well. She wondered if she  
would be able to find it again in wherever she ended up after this. That  
thought led her to wonder however if she would even remember the mug in the  
first place, much less worry about coming by a new one.  
  
Glitch took a long slow sip of her coffee, letting the aromatic liquid  
trickle down her throat. She traipsed slowly back into her bedroom and sat  
down at her computer for the first time since she had allowed it to be  
bugged. With Smith around to keep her occupied, she hadn't felt the need to  
spend her evenings searching the web for nothing in particular. It felt  
alien to be sitting in her leather desk chair once again.  
  
She hit the power button on the keyboard and turned on the monitor. Whatever  
surveillance equipment or programming Smith's cohorts had installed never  
showed while it powered up. She pulled up her email and opened a new  
document. After she keyed in Splinter's email address she began to type, her  
fingers not moving quite as accurately as they once had.  
  
  
Splinter,  
  
I'm sorry I haven't been to the Mainframe in so long. I hope I didn't worry  
you. I don't think you'll be seeing much of me anymore. This deal with the  
feds turned out to be worse than I had expected. They sent an agent to my  
house to explain what was really going on and I found out that it could've  
been really dangerous. I'm in good hands though. The feds are on my side and  
have promised to get me out of this. Worst comes to worst, I'm sure I can  
fend for myself. I survived you guys didn't I? Tell Ring she can pick up the  
dresses and what not she lent me from my apartment later today. I'll leave  
the door unlocked for her. You could have her pick up the books you lent me  
too. They were great by the way. Sorry if I've unnerved you guys. I'll miss  
all of you.  
  
Glitch  
  
PS: Don't reply to this. I won't get it and the feds have my computer  
bugged.  
  
  
Glitch gave her email a once over after typing it and then hit Enter to send  
it off. She glanced through her email and found that all she had been sent  
was a reminder from her landlord that her rent was over due. She didn't even  
bother to delete it before shutting down her computer. She took another long  
drink from her mug as she rose from her chair.  
  
She spent the next hour and a half pacing like a caged wild cat about her  
apartment stopping occasionally to refill her coffee mug and glance out the  
window. The wait seemed to fill the space of a small eternity.  
  
A knock came at her door precisely at eight.  
  
"Good morning, Simone." Smith greeted when she opened the door. His voice  
held some distance in it, as it had when they had first met. There was also a   
barely detectable edge of uneasiness.  
  
"Good morning, Agent Smith." Glitch returned politely, shutting out the  
surge of emotions that crashed through her. "I take it that it's time to go?"  
  
He gave the barest of nods. "I am to have you at the military building a few  
blocks from here at 8:30."  
  
"The one that overlooks the park?" She asked as she got her coat from the  
back of one of the stools in the kitchen.  
  
Smith nodded stiffly.  
  
"So I take it you're planning on walking?"  
  
He nodded again.  
  
"Well, let's get going then." Glitch said in an attempt to sound  
enthusiastic. "If your cohorts are anything like you, they won't like us  
being late." She strode past Smith and out the door, throwing the coat  
around her shoulders as she went.  
  
Glitch walked fast when she was nervous, which meant she had no trouble  
keeping up with Smith's long strides. She felt excited as well, which was  
reflected in the bounce in her step. She almost appeared to be eager rather  
than frightened.  
  
"Are you not afraid?" Smith asked as they neared the park.  
  
"Of course. Who wouldn't be?" Glitch replied shoving her hands into her  
pockets. "I'm looking forward to the change though." She said, thinking she  
sounded like she was going off to college rather than having her entire  
memory erased.  
  
"You won't have anything to compare your new life to." Smith pointed out as  
they crossed the street. "All your old memories will be erased."  
  
"My old memories are part of the reason this life sucks." Glitch told him  
flatly. "I don't want to remember all my past mistakes and regrets."  
  
Smith nodded somberly as they entered the park.  
  
The park was quiet for the most part except for the ducks, which were just  
waking up. Sunlight streamed in silver ribbons between the tall buildings  
surrounding them making the beads of dew sparkle like scattered diamond dust  
on the grass. For the first time all morning, Glitch smiled. If she would be  
able to remember it, she knew she would miss this park.  
  
When they had reached the revolving doors of the military installation  
Glitch's face froze over again as she looked up its stony face. It stood  
some sixty stories tall, fashioned of pale brick and tinted glass. The  
whirring of a propeller cued Glitch in to the fact that there was a  
helicopter on the roof.  
  
Smith led Glitch through the security check and on to the elevator that lay  
on the far side of the stone walled lobby. The mirrored metal doors in the  
lift showed Glitch her reflection. She looked rather woebegone in her faded  
jeans standing next to Smith's pristine three-piece suit. She also noticed  
her gray eyes had regained their blank, stagnant stare. The woman staring  
back at her, so peacefully emotionless, didn't look at all how she felt. Her  
insides were writhing with adrenaline.  
  
They took the elevator to the twenty-second floor and the metal doors opened  
to reveal a hallway lined with doors. Every door bore a brass plate with a  
room number etched on it. Smith led her down the hall to room 379 and went  
to open the door. His hand paused on the handle as he back at her through  
his dark glasses.  
  
"This is your last chance Simone." Smith told her, keeping his voice  
carefully neutral as not to show any sign of fear or misgiving. "I just want  
to make sure this is truly what you want."  
  
Glitch stared up at him, suddenly willing to give anything to have been able  
to see through those dark lenses to the deep blue eyes that lay beyond. She  
swallowed thickly and nodded.  
  
Smith's jaw seemed to convulse as he turned the door handle.  
******  
  
Oooh…suspense! See you in the next chapter!


	15. Dry Your Eyes

A/N: Well, well, well…here we are at last…the last real chapter of this little  
ficcie. I can't believe it. My baby is all grown up. *Sniffle* …Well, there  
is the epilogue after this, so don't get too down. Keep the reviews coming  
and tell me what you are thinking! Sorry this took so long. Harry Potter 5  
was stealing all my attentions for about 5 days. Good book, but very sad for  
certain fangirls. Don't worry, I won't spoil. Cookies to Ninya Elfstone (AKA  
crashed) for your kind review! Also cookies go to Rei for posting! You've  
been the best!  
  
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to the creators of the Matrix  
and are not mine. The song lyrics are from Pocahontas and cookies to  
Kreeesten H. for getting them for me. Glitch is the only thing in this  
chapter that belongs to me. No using her without my permission.  
  
Rating: This is a light PG-13 for thematic events and overall creepyness.  
Oh…just a warning…I hope you don't mind needles. ^_^ I've kinda given up on  
ranting at the parents for now…if your kids have read it this far…you should  
be hung by your toenails and beaten with a big stick.  
  
Now to the chapter! Fasten your seatbelts! See you at the end!  
  
  
Chapter XV: Dry Your Eyes  
  
_If I never knew you, If I never felt this love  
I would have no inkling of how precious life can be  
And if I never held you I would never have a clue  
How at last I find in you the missing part of me  
In this world so full of fear full of rage and lies  
I can see the truth so clear in your eyes so dry your eyes  
And I'm so grateful to you I'd have lived my whole life through  
Lost forever if I never knew you  
I thought our love would be so beautiful  
Somehow I know we make the whole world right  
I never knew fear and hate could be so strong  
All they leave are worthless whispers in the night  
But still my heart is saying we were right…_  
******  
  
The room was small; not much larger than Glitch's living room. The walls  
were bare and painted a sickly yellow green that reminded Glitch strongly of  
a hospital or a nursing home. A thin rectangular window stretched across the  
top of the far wall and to Glitch's left, a curtain was drawn to divide the  
room.  
  
Two men clad in dark suits exactly like Smith's stood side by side a few  
paces into the room with their hands clasped behind their backs. Dark square  
sunglasses hid their eyes rendering their faces totally unreadable. One was  
about two inches taller than the other but that was the only thing that  
distinguished them. They gave off the aura of being manufactured.  
  
After Agent Smith had closed the door, the taller man spoke. His voice was  
deep and devoid of any expression. "Is this the informant?" He asked  
plainly.  
  
Smith gave the barest of nods.  
  
"And she has requested that her entire memory be deleted?" He inquired.  
  
Smith nodded again, fighting to keep his features schooled.  
  
"She does know that this is not normal procedure." He asked.  
  
"I have informed her of this." Smith replied with yet another nod.  
  
Glitch was growing agitated. The two nameless Agents, (she assumed the other  
two men were Agents) had yet to even acknowledge that she was in the room.  
They were treating her as though she was inferior to themselves, like a  
child who didn't know what was best for herself.  
  
"A full memory erase is a deviation from the original plan." The shorter  
Agent stated rather stiffly, taking a step towards Smith.  
  
"I understand this." He answered evenly, not shying away. "However this  
would take less time."  
  
The nameless Agents considered this for a moment before the taller one  
spoke. "It will. Perhaps this will be for the best."  
  
Agent Smith then turned to Glitch. "Are you ready, Simone?"  
  
She took a deep breath through her nose and nodded firmly. The Agent closest  
the curtain took it by the edge and pulled it back.  
  
The sight that lay beyond it made Glitch's stomach twist. The curtain had  
concealed a metal chair bearing restraining straps on its legs and arms.  
Behind it was a tall machine, which resembled a heart and lung monitor in a  
frightening fashion. Various sensors hung limply from their white cords  
across the back of the chair. To the right of the chair was a tray of  
medical tools. Some appeared to be commonplace items such as tweezers and  
forceps but also on the tray were what appeared to be a pair of pliers and a  
set of handcuffs. She didn't even want to speculate what any of the tools  
were for.  
  
A lump seemingly the size of a grapefruit rose in Glitch's throat at the  
sight of it all. This was it. All her life was about to come unraveled and  
before her were the tools with which it was going to be done. Oddly enough  
however, she was more nervous about the procedure rather than the  
repercussions. She felt Smith's hand on the small of her back and she  
glanced back at him briefly. He guided her to the chair and helped her sit  
down.   
  
"Lean your head back here." He instructed gently, placing his cool hand on  
her forehead.  
  
The shorter of the other two Agents glanced up at Smith, clearly unfamiliar  
with his treatment of the woman. Meanwhile the taller Agent busied himself  
filling a syringe with a thin silver liquid, which he placed on the tray. He  
then began to attach the sticky sensor pads in various places on Glitch's  
head and throat. When this task was done he stepped away and stood quietly.  
  
The shorter Agent was now changing the dials on the bizarre machine behind  
Glitch's chair. She craned her neck around to try and see what he was doing.  
As she did, Smith leaned over her and touched her shoulder gently.  
  
"How are you feeling?" He asked softly, glancing at the machine behind her  
which had begun to hum softly.  
  
"I'm alright." She answered, trying with all her might to sound casual.  
  
"Your heart is racing." Smith informed her with a slight smile.  
  
Glitch smirked up at him. "A racing heart hasn't killed me yet."  
  
Smith's smile deepened as he bent to give her a soft kiss on the lips. "That  
is a good thing." He whispered.  
  
By now, the other Agents (who up to this point had been merely shooting the couple  
wary glances) were making no attempt to hide their staring. They were just  
short of having their mouths gaping open.  
  
Smith looked up at them. "Is everything in place?" He asked sharply.  
  
Both Agents nodded together.  
  
Smith nodded, standing up straight. "Excellent." He strode over to the  
whirring machine and began to punch in codes on its various keypads. When he  
was satisfied that everything was in order, he turned to the other agents.  
"I will be administering the serum." He said in a monotonous voice.  
  
The taller Agent took the syringe from the tray and handed it to Smith,  
who thumped it twice to remove the air bubbles. He then turned it over twice  
in his hands as though holding it was physically difficult. His eyes slid  
from the needle to Glitch who looked almost serene. He leaned over her and  
swept her hair back away from her neck. His fingers hesitated as they knit  
themselves in the ebony strands and his face tensed.  
  
Glitch reached up and touched his hand. "I'm ready, Agent Smith." She  
whispered, fighting back the tears that burned like acid at the back of her  
throat. "I know what I'm doing. I know that the next time I see you…if I  
ever see you…I won't remember you."  
  
Smith neared the syringe to Glitch's throat, the needle poised to pierce her  
skin. "You won't remember me, Simone," He said hoarsely. "But I will always  
remember you."  
  
She smiled at him then, her gray eyes glittering with tears of acceptance.  
"Do it, Smith. You'll see me on the other side."  
  
Smith gave a shuddering sigh and plunged the needle home. Glitch winced  
slightly as he began to inject the serum and then she lay quiet. She took a  
few deep breaths as she gazed up at Smith, whose handsomely chiseled face  
still loomed over her. She could hardly believe her eyes as she watched a  
single tear snake out from under Smith's dark glasses  
  
"Could a machine really cry?" was her last thought before darkness swallowed  
her mind.  
******  



	16. Epilogue: Somehow Still Missing

A/N: Well folks…this is it…the end of the line for Glitch and Agent Smith.  
But I did make sure to write an epilogue to tie up any loose ends. …Well,  
really to create more but who cares. I send cookies to all my reviewers!  
Please give me a final thought about this so I can make it better on the  
second go round. No idea when I will rewrite this but I hope to sometime  
next year. I'm sorry this took so long to get posted. I have been playing  
with my church orchestra every night for the past week and my poster went  
out of town (not that I'm complaining. I took a vacation and so can she).  
Cookies to Gaia for the idea of Glitch's cell phone ring and to Rei for  
posting this! You are awesome!  
  
Crashed: Thanks again for reviewing! Hope the epilogue holds up to your  
expectations.  
  
939597: The number was all you left for your name, but thanks for your  
review! Sorry I made you cry…hopefully this epilogue will lighten your  
spirits. Or make you want to kill me. One of the two; hopefully the former.  
  
Xavioraaz: You rule! Thanks for reading my work and putting me on your  
favorites list!  
  
Disclaimer: I own no one you recognize…lets just put it that way, ok? Don't  
want to ruin the end for you! I also don't own the song lyrics, which are  
from a song sung by Vanessa Carlton.  
  
Rating: This is clean all the way, save a little language so I can't gripe  
about bad parents in this one. Damn.  
  
Well, here we go. I give you the last installment of A Glitch in his  
Breathing…  
  
  
Epilogue: Somehow Still Missing  
  
_Making my way downtown  
Walking fast, faces pass  
And I'm home bound  
Staring blankly ahead  
Making my way  
Making a way through the crowd  
And I still need you  
And I still miss you  
And now I wonder  
If I could fall   
Into the sky  
Do you think time   
Would pass us by  
Cause you know I'd  
Walk a thousand miles  
If I could just see you  
If I could just hold you  
Tonight…_  
******  
  
It was five thirty in the evening and the sunlight painting the city streets  
was beginning to turn golden. Men and women in sleek business suits and  
tailored dresses poured from the various glass and steel office buildings,  
heading for home having just gotten off from a hard day's work.  
  
Agent Smith stood with his back against the side of one of these buildings,  
scanning the crowd from behind his rimless sunglasses. His starched suit  
blended perfectly into the crowds of Armani and Liz Clayborne. Last he had  
heard, this building was where his Simone was employed and he just wanted to  
see her for a moment, even if it was as she passed him on the sidewalk. It  
wouldn't matter if she saw him. She probably wouldn't even give him a second  
glance if she did. She would have no idea who he was or why he was there.  
Still, he had to see her.  
  
It had been a year since she had been transplanted and he was wondering how  
she had changed in that time. He missed her deeply but he never dared to  
show it. A need for companionship would be seen as a weakness by the other  
Agents and that might mean he would be sent to the machine Mainframe to be  
"recycled," something all programs feared.  
  
Smith sighed but did not stop surveying the throng of people that had begun  
to pile up at a crosswalk. Why did a simple thing like love have to be so  
damn complicated? If there was one thing Smith learned about humans it was  
that they only seemed simplistic.  
  
A woman in a burgundy suit pushed through the revolving doors of the office  
building Smith was leaning against. She snared his attention almost  
immediately and his eyes caressed their way down her body as she neared him.  
  
She was just over five feet tall but her black pumps added another three  
inches. Her modest skirt just covered her knees and her waistcoat style  
jacket hung just a few inches above that. Her raven hair was cut short and  
slicked back away from her face, accenting her high cheekbones. Not all  
women could wear their hair like that but she made it look utterly feminine.  
She contrasted with the sea of painted female faces around her, as she wore  
no makeup, at least none that Smith could see. She was still strikingly  
beautiful.  
  
As the woman passed, Smith read the printing on the side of her black  
leather briefcase.  
  
_Simone E. Carter: Dell VP_  
  
"My…she has changed." Smith breathed, as he watched her pass, allowing  
himself a small smile. Who would have known that his shy Simone would become  
a top-ranking businesswoman? Even he hardly recognized her.  
  
Suddenly she looked over at him, as though she had felt his gaze pressing on  
her and the color of her eyes made Smith catch his breath.  
  
Simone's eyes were now a crystalline shade of blue, like shards of ice. This  
was the color they were supposed to be and Smith would never know why they  
were not like that in the first place.  
  
Simone smiled at him, just barely a curl of her lips. It was a smile one  
would give a stranger out of courtesy and Smith couldn't help but smile  
back. He knew she didn't recognize him but at the moment it didn't really  
matter. The chasm that divided them narrowed for an instant and for that  
brief moment Smith could feel all the emotions he had lost along with her  
boiling back through him. A hint of sadness flickered across his face at the  
memory of it all.  
  
Simone had to stifle a girlish giggle with her hand. Was that man staring at  
her? She felt herself blush, as she looked away and as soon as she did other  
thoughts began to drift into her mind. Her computer was waiting for her at  
home, still running scans for FBI tracking systems. She almost had the IRS  
database cracked. She had been working at it for months but she wasn't  
exactly sure what she would do with it once she got in. She decided she  
would figure it out later.  
  
She stared at the back of the person in front and began to muse as she had a  
habit of doing on her walk back to her car. Hacking had become a second life  
and a second name to Simone in the past year or so. She often hung out at  
the local hacker club, _The Circuit_, where she kept up with all the latest  
news. Corporate life was good, but hacking life was better.  
  
Suddenly, her cell phone rang, beeping out _Ride of the Valkyries_ as she  
scrambled to retrieve it from her waistband. She pressed it to her ear as  
she stared blankly down at the concrete.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hello, Trinity." A deep, almost taunting voice said on the other end of the  
line. "I cannot believe I have found you again."  
  
"How did-" Simone looked back to where the man in the suit had been  
standing. He was gone. She frowned as she pressed the phone closer to her  
ear. "Who is this?"  
******  
  
HA! I get the last laugh! I win! ^_^v


	17. Final Author's Note

Final Author's note (In all its unedited, commaless glory ^_^):

Well, Glitch's story has come to a bittersweet close. I thought the plot twist was a nice touch and I hope you agree. It's a Matrix fic…there has to  
be a plot twist you know? Hell to be honest I didn't even know it was coming until like chapter 8 or so, so it was a surprise to all of us. (I hope…) I noticed in the first movie that Smith and Trinity never really squared off and fought so I decided to write a fic about what I thought was the reason…plus there had to be a reason as to why Smith hated Neo so much.

Now…onto the cookies!

Rei: *yanks lever* Ha! Cookies to you for posting and putting up with my comma errors! I'm trying to work on that! Thanks also for making me see the Matrix for the first time so technically you get credit for this too!

Lira and Gaia: My idea machines! Thanks so much you two! Sorry I didn't see Armitage in time!

Kreeesten: Who put up with the cookie chapter to read the rest of it! Hope the ending passes your happy story test! (not! ^_~)

Cookies to my reviewers, xavioraaz, 939597, crashed, Amy, Anna (now do you understand about the hacker? It was Morpheus! Thank you for your brutal honesty!!! ), TheRedPony, Smithfan, Little she-bear, diamonds-r-forever, Dreamofagents, Scourge Of Middle Earth, Bagheera, Exodus, Sapphira, Lady-Dragonknight, Kristen (I heart you!!!), Jezrael the Jealous, Soshika, Leilyra, and Destiny Chaser. I wouldn't have wanted to finish this without your support and criticizms!

Thanks also to the singers and lyricists of the songs I used as well as to the creators of the Matrix! This exists because of your original idea!

Well that's about it! There will be no sequel to this fic to my knowledge but keep your eyes peeled because I will possibly be posting my Harry Potter Mary Sue quadrilogy, Playing the Game.

Happy cookies to all and to all a good night!

Love and Cookies,

Hester D. Byrde

The Master of the City


End file.
